The Phoenix, The Raven & Prince Charming?
by Dragons Quill
Summary: The war is over and Dumbledore has laid the groundworks for things to come. Hermione is back at Hogwarts and Severus has been lassoed into helping her with her own project. What will happen when a new marriage law is passed and a horse gets in the way?
1. Deputy Headmistress' Promise

**The Phoenix, The Raven & Prince Charming?**

_Disclaimer:__ I am not JK Rowling; I don't own Harry Potter or any of the associated characters. The only thing I own is the plot and any characters you don't recognize and no I'm not getting paid for this story. _

Summary: _The war is over and things can get back to normal, but is anything ever really normal at Hogwarts? Dumbledore has laid the groundwork for things to come and Hermione is now working at Hogwarts. Severus is back to his old jobs and if Hermione has anything to do with it, a few more. Who or what is Prince Charming? What happens when a marriage law is passed and horse gets in the way? Come along for the ride and find out! (SS/HG pairing)_

_**Author's note: **_**this is a plot spoiler for the 6****th**** book so if you haven't read it and don't want to ruin it, then you shouldn't read this. **

**This is written from an American perspective so if I got something horribly wrong about the English countryside or lingo- **_**sorry**_**.**

**Not Half Blood Prince Compatible (Snape is a Pureblood here).**

**I am an Equine Major at college, I love horses and yes they will be a big part of the story, can't be helped got horse on the brain.**

**This is my first fan-fic so please bear with me and review, **_**please**_**. Thanks **

**Hope you enjoy **

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_Deputy Headmaster's Promise (1)_

Beginning of 6th year at Hogwarts a few days before the students arrive back from summer holiday- Head Master's office

"Promise me that you won't let him kill himself Minerva."

"Who?"

"Severus. Promise me you won't let him kill himself."

"I don't understand why would he want to kill himself?"

"Because of what he has done, will do, has to do."

"You are talking in riddles Albus, explain."

"I can't, it is enough that I know, and he knows. Just promise you won't let him kill himself." Dumbledore looked plaintively at his deputy headmistress.

"I will do everything I can."

"He must be kept alive for the Order, for his trial, for his redemption, for the future."

"His trial?"

"Yes, his trial and the redemption that I know will come from it, even if he won't see it that way."

"I still don't understand."

"You will soon enough… soon enough." Dumbledore sadly mused to himself. "You are to rehire him as Potions Master here at Hogwarts when the smoke clears and he will be Deputy Headmaster as well; he is to keep his current Head of House position in Slytherin. Keep his quarters like they are when it happens; don't let anyone but the house elves in. He likes to keep his private life just that, private.

Hire our Hermione as Transfigurations Professor and I dare say she would make a fine specimen for the Gryffindor Head of House as well. Her heart is good and she will excel at anything she puts her mind to with a good dose of that famous Gryffindor bravery that will be what she'll need to get through. Besides it will be good to have the young and exuberant woman in such a position as the rival to the Slytherin Head of House. The very thought of such a thing will certainly bring him around, even if just a little. Of course such things can't be rushed and how long it will take is hard for me to tell right now, but I know them both, they will find the truth eventually. I just hope it will be soon enough."

"But…" McGonagall stammered. "How… I…you… but…"

"Don't worry on what I am telling you now; just do as I ask when the time comes. Promise me that you will."

"I still don't understand." McGonagall stammered finally finding her voice in shock of hearing Dumbledore reassign all of her current positions to other people and the hint of something else but her shock clouded mind barely noticed and filed such thoughts away to be processed later, much later. Her mind grasped at the one thing that struck out violently at it at that instant. "Hermione has yet to graduate, how can she become Head of Household?"

"I didn't say anything about what I have asked you to promise me to become effective immediately. I only am asking you to promise me that you will do these things when the time is right." Dumbledore told the witch across his desk who was looking very distraught indeed and had the fleeting notion to tell her the whole story, but as he had told her before, it was enough that he and Severus knew.

"How will I know when the time is right?" McGonagall asked almost breathlessly, she know he was hiding something, something very big and very important but in all her years she had come to trust the Headmaster and understand that whatever he was holding back was what he thought for her own good.

"You will know, you will know without a doubt." Dumbledore assured her. "You will receive packages by owl before his trail, they will be very important and you must not let anyone except yourself, one of your own choosing and the judges touch it, the information shall stay as free from possible contamination so as to stay above reproach. Make sure you pick the right person to share the information with, someone who is highly regarded and can be trusted to give the judges the information if you become incapable of doing so."

"Yes, I understand, I think." McGonagall nodded. "Well I understand the procedure, if not the reasoning and purpose in context to now." She admitted.

"That is enough for now." Dumbledore nodded to her, his papery thin voice seemed stretched to its capacity. He closed his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles, eyes that did not sparkle and twinkle as they normally did McGonagall had noted on her entrance a few minutes before. She worried for the man greatly. The War and the reappearance of Voldemort, the stresses of bringing the Order back together, all were taking a significant toll on the wizard. "Just promise me that you will do as I ask and don't let him kill himself." The wizened wizard breathed out quietly, almost in a defeated manner.

"I will do everything within my power and perhaps a bit more if I am able." McGonagall assured him.

"Thank you." Dumbledore said his eyes still closed and head resting against his tented hands. "You may go, there is much to prepare before the children return in less than a week's time, and we will all need our rest to finish up what still must be done."

"Have a good night Albus." McGonagall said getting up from her chair and crossing to the door. "I hope that you can find some time to rest, you are instrumental in this fight against he-who-must-not-be-named, you need your strength." Her answer was a deep sigh from Dumbledore as she closed the door behind her and began to descend the spiral staircase to the hallway.

"So what are your views on the situation Fawkes?" Dumbledore asked after a few minutes alone in silence, opening his eyes and turning to the Phoenix roosting beside him on his stand. Fawkes looked back and gave a low melodious cry not much louder than a cooing dove. "I know my good friend, I know." Dumbledore agreed, he got up and began to climb the stairs to one side of the room to his bedroom. When he got to the top of the stairs he looked back down at Fawkes who looked back intelligently. "I know I can count on you, besides the change of scenery will do you good." Then Dumbledore was gone into his bedroom.

Fawkes cooed quietly to himself stretching and then tucking his head beneath his wing. He would need all the rest he could get this year. This was going to be a test of his powers, even more so than a few years back when he went against the Basilisk, but with no less an important outcome.

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A/N: **Hope you guys enjoy, some chapters will be posted in pairs as they go together please, please review. **

**Please excuse any and all miss spellings I don't have a beta and am doing the best with the words spell check has an aneurism over.**


	2. Meanwhile in the Dungeons

**A/N: here is the send chapter that goes with the first**

_Meanwhile in the dungeons (2)_

The quiet of the dungeons was shattered by the sound of glass meeting with the solid stone wall of the Potion Master's personal quarters.

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL!" The deep voice of Potions Master Professor Severus Snape roared in anguish. He paced in front of the blazing hearth in his chambers like a newly caged wild animal, temper totally out of control and yet there was no one and nothing to take his anger out on. His arm still had the dull ache that it always did after being summoned by the Dark Lord and he had answered the call, as always, as obligated. He had gone to Dumbledore when he had returned not an hour before and told him what he had found out. He told him of the assignment given to Draco, the assignment given to himself through the boy's mother.

"Foolish boy." He muttered. "Damn foolish boy."

'_You knew he was going to ask it of someone.'_ The little voice in the back of his head told him. _'You knew that Draco would go down that path, just like his father. It was only a matter of time.'_

"But I thought I still had some time..."

'_Time for what?'_ The voice scolded him. _'Time for Voldemort to forget about his greatest nemesis besides the Boy-who- lived? HA! You are acting like the dunderheads you try to teach.'_

"Time... time to steer him to a better path, towards the light. To save others from walking the path I have trod, the path I can't seem to leave no matter how hard I try, the path that will only lead to absolute destruction." Severus took a long draw of Firewhisky from large bottle clutched in one hand, not even grimacing as the liquid burned his throat. He was going to get drunk, real drunk, drunker than he had been in years… not since, not since… Her…Lily. "I thought that I could save him from his father, from Voldemort, from everything…" he began to pace the room again.

'_Well you failed again moron,'_ the voice accosted him. _'you really are quite a failure of a man Severus Snape, why the world even puts up with you is an astonishment, especially after what you've promised to do.'_

Severus had to agree with his inner voice, but he had turned now nearly 18 years to Dumbledore for comfort, protection and mercy. He had become a spy for the Order, double crossing Voldemort into believing he was as spy for him, but what good was it now? He was bound in a promise that would lead to the death of one, two or three people; one was far too young to have been assigned such a duty, and the other was too important to lose. And yet he wasn't sure that the world would mind if the third person should die from the deal.

'_You deserve to die you know.'_ The voice said to him. _'After everything you've done there is no other way to set things right in the world.'_

"I am providing useful information to the Order." He said defiantly.

'_Sure, while plotting to destroy it from the inside.'_ The voice told him. _'You should be dead already. Your father was right about you. You're a useless excuse of a boy and nobody will want to deal with you at all.'_

"But Dumbledore believes I have something within me, though I can't see it myself. I want to believe like that man does that everyone has good in them somewhere. That _I_ have good in me somewhere." Severus took another long draw from the bottle and fell into his favorite chair before the hearth. Staring into the fire he contemplated the conversation he had had earlier with the older wizard. The meeting where he had told his closest friend and confidant for the last 18 years that… that he was bound in a promise to kill him, and if he didn't then he himself would die.

"Why didn't he kill me!!?!" Snape cried out in anguish again. "Why did he let me live!!? I deserve to die!"

'_You're finally getting the idea worm.'_ The voice growled at him. _'But you are "lucky" enough to have someone who believes that you will do the right thing and believes that you are good. If he only knew…'_

"But that's just the thing, he knows, I have told him everything, and yet he still is my friend. How can I do such a horrible, monstrous thing as to kill the man?!"

'_You will do it, you will be too afraid not to. Voldemort may not be your lord anymore but you still fear him and the pain he will cause you to endure, he will not __let __you die until he has had his fun if you didn't, no matter if your under the Unbreakable Vow or not."_

"I'm such a bastard." Snape growled at himself. "I don't deserve what I have and when the time comes I am sure I will get nothing more than what I deserve." He raised his bottle out to nothing and then began the process of getting himself so drunk as to pass out in front of the fire, slumped over in his chair like a rag doll.

**A/N: ok guys this is my first fan-fic and I would like to have some reviews. Since this is a pair of chapters I would really like 6 reviews before I post again. I've got the next few chapters written so the faster you review the sooner you get the next chapter. **


	3. Shards of Memory

**A/N: Yea 6 reviews, alright guys here is the next pair of chapters, they are a linkage between the beginning of Harry's 6****th**** year and 'present' when the war is over.**

_Shards of memory (3) _

Lily, what had she seen in the wretched James Potter anyway? He had been smarter and granted he was not as attractive as he had been, but he was much smarter. He was top of his class and she was right behind him. He would have been a better match to her than James had been. But no, she went off with the dashing young man with considerably better looks that had taunted him throughout his entire time at Hogwarts with the 'Marauders'. He knew Lily better than James ever did, it was him not James she would spend long hours in the library with, talking, discussing, debating. When she had broke the news to him that she was engaged to James in their seventh year he had been devastated, a bludger that knocked him for such a loop that if it had been on the Quidditch field would have landed him in the Hospital Wing unconscious for a month at least.

If the quiet young boy with a fragile self esteem had been withdrawn before that moment it got worse, much, much worse. He had loved her, even though he had always been too afraid that any advances he made towards her would be seen as anything but chaste and that he would scare her away. It had taken long enough for her to break through to him that she didn't bite like James and his pack and he had fallen too deeply for her to risk losing the only real friendship he had. Granted he had 'friends' in the Slytherin house, but they were more alliances of powers, a way to advance himself in society when he left school. Slytherins always looked out for 'numero uno' and Lily had been a refreshing flower of real friendship. Her Gryffindor tendencies of compassion and bravery had brought her into his life and Warmed him, making him feel loved and wanted. This Warmth was something he craved and looked for but had never had.

His mother had died shortly after bearing him and his father was left a bitter angry man, blaming his only child for the death of his beloved wife. Needless to say Severus had never been so happy in his short life up to that point to have such a friend. But that had been all taken away from him when Potter proposed.

He had thrown himself at his studies for the rest of the year, gaining the highest N.E.W.T.s recorded at Hogwarts. He become more sullen and sulking than ever and spent as little time in the library to avoid her at all costs. She had tried on numerous occasions to talk to him and he refused, his heart was too broken to talk at her without feeling as if she was stomping his heart. It was hard enough that he had to see her with James' ring in classes. He would cry himself to sleep at night with a silencing charm around his bed so as not to alert his fellow dorm mates and gather their wrath as well.

After he graduated he decided he would spend some time with his friend Lucius Malfoy before he went to face his father for the rest of the summer. He had begun to build himself walls and armor thicker than what he had had against the Marauders to hold out the world that seemed to scorn him. While at the Malfoy manor things took a fateful turn. After a week or two at the Malfoy's he came face to face with Voldemort himself. Awe struck by his power and craving some of it for himself, hoping for the recognition it may bring, Severus had become entranced by the Dark Lord and became a loyal Death Eater tending to his Master's every beck and call.

By the end of the summer he had taken the Dark Mark and went off to college for Potions, the one subject he enjoyed the most due to the fact it was a solitary position. He did not have to deal with others and as such did not have to hear the whispered words and pointed stares from them. Throughout his schooling he had extremely high marks and worked for the Dark Lord on the side. When his Master required him to do something he went and did it, no matter what it was, with one exception, he would not participate in the rapes and orgies the Dark Lord orchestrated for his followers. He had too much respect for women, even though he felt that they had given him little to none in return.

His Master had let such things slide as long as Severus continued to do what he asked. He would create for his Master whatever Potion he desired and would research and experiment with others. Once out of school he was brought under the Dark Lord's protective wings and was allowed to grow powerful in his Potions skills. The research was not ever hampered and he had an endless supply of test subjects from which to choose, all he had to do was ask the Dark Lord for a subject. It was his dream, researching alone and making advances, though dark in most cases, in Potions that had not been made before. He would gain the notoriety that he deserved.

He loved the job and he was an extremely loyal Death Eater. When the Master said to kill, he killed, when the Master said to maim, he did, only when the Dark Lord allowed rape did he hold back and let the others have their fun, he would not participate in that. When the Master needed a Potion he was right there. He cared little for the feelings of others and those, whom he killed, only the Dark Lord's opinion mattered. That was until one fateful night.

As the Dark Lord laid out his next plan of attach he learned the identity of those the Dark Lord required to be eliminated. He had heard of the prophesy and that there was one boy, more powerful than his Master. One that could possibly bring his Master down if let to grow to maturity, which was not to be tolerated. Voldemort himself was to go on this raid along with a few other trusted confidants to make sure the job was finished off right, he was glad he was not selected to go on that raid for he would have been unable. The raid was on that of Lily and the wretched James. Now, he could have cared less for that damnable Potter, but he could not stand the thought of Lily's death. He even couldn't stand the idea that the child would die as well. Granted it was the spawn of his enemy James, but it was Lily's child. To kill her child was to kill her and he could not bear such a thought.

It was on that night Severus's loyalties switched sides, he could no longer condone the killings, mudbloods as they were, but to kill the one woman that he had loved and been his friend was too much. He had gone to Dumbledore that night and had confessed to everything he had ever done and what he knew of the Dark Lord's plans. He had begged the wizard to kill him for his deeds but Dumbledore had not. Because of him he learned later, from the anger of his Master, that Lily's family had been secretly hidden away by magic a few days before the attack occurred, causing the Dark Lord to find another way to find and eradicate this threat.

But as much as his heart had swelled at this report it fell once again not a few months later when he heard that his Master had found them and had killed James and Lily. Yet as much as his heart broke for Lily it had helped that her son had survived, though how was a complete mystery to him; no one lived through the killing curse. An even more baffling was the apparent death and or disappearance of Lord Voldemort himself. The Death Eaters that had returned that night looking for his healing Potions gave quite a tale that had cut him to his core as they relished how they had first killed James and then watched as their Master killed the irate Lily. They were as baffled as they could be though to where their Master had gone. They had watched him cast the killing curse at the child that lay in his basinet and then in a flash of green light their Master was gone and only his clothes and wand had remained while the child screamed in his cradle. They had only enough sense to grab their Master's wand before they appropriated back to Snape for their remedies.

**A/N: I would like to thank stelze for pointing out some rather embarrassing mistakes I made with some misspellings. I really have no excuse for that. I still can't believe I didn't catch it when both a friend and I have looked over that chapter quite a bit. I have now fixed them in my original and am going to try to repost chapter 1 and will be much more vigilant in the rest of my writing. **


	4. The Years Between

**A/N: How things have gone for Severus before he became the dreaded Potions Master**

_The years between (4) _

Once it was confirmed that Voldemort was really gone, though Snape had never really believed he was dead, his Dark Mark still had an occasional flicker of activity. It had not paled further from the 'silent' color that it always faded to during times away from Voldemort, Dumbledore had brought him to Hogwarts as Potions Professor. He had not really understood why Dumbledore had come to him as quickly as he had, not even a month after Voldemort's disappearance or even why he had come to him in the first place. He felt that for what he had done in his life up to that point that he deserved no sympathy, no mercy. But for some reason the crazy codger had insisted that he come to Hogwarts and teach, as he was the best Potions Master available. He had conveniently left out most feared and hated as well.

After a time Severus had relented and agreed, he knew he needed the money and because of his past, knew that no other would hire him, an ex Death Eater and scum of the earth. There had been an uproar he knew, though Dumbledore had tried to play it down, about such a man as himself teaching young, moldable minds but he could care less at that time. He would retreat to his dungeons and bar the door to the world, licking the wounds that he would not admit to anyone. His only solace was the fear he was able to instill into those he taught. He knew it was cowardly to bully them in such a way that they would cower in fear as he approached, but he had power and he did not want to relent it. The young might as well learn that life was not going to be easy and one would have to endure hardships to get through. The sooner they learned that the better. He knew that he should try to be kinder to his students but he was unable to be, he demanded perfection from them and when they did not perform he would fume. The Potions profession was dangerous, as dangerous as being one of Voldemort's enemies and nothing less than perfection was required to get through each class in one piece. And he feared, if he was to let down his walls, even just a little, the students would begin to think of him as weak and weakness was not to be tolerated for weakness could be exploited. He would not be exploited again.

Dumbledore had always been kind and gentle with him, only prodding where he felt improvement was needed. He had also commanded his respect, which for Severus to bestow was quite a feat. Even under the Dark Lord he had struggled to respect the powerful wizard who had ruled through fear and shear might. He had despised his Master's use of women and had only asked for male subjects when a Potion was to be tested.

He had always wished that he could find himself a good witch to settle down with, and though he was Pureblood and had been under Voldemort's teachings for so many years he still did not particularly care either way. He knew he was not attractive and had little to offer a woman and as such he would settle for a woman that was crazy enough to give him a second glance. He wished that he could have a woman that would love him as much as he wanted to love but he did not hold high hopes for such a thing. He wished for a witch that was intelligent and beautiful, that he could have intellectual debates with and turn the heads of other men. But he knew that such a package was a rarity, even in the muggle world and seemingly even less an occurrence in the Wizarding World. Even when such a woman was found, it was usual that she had already been snatched up by another man.

Besides the likelihood of such a woman even considering looking at him twice was ludicrous. He had too dark of a past, too many strikes against him and he was not attractive in the least. Not that he had bothered to care anymore; once Lily had rejected him he had done little to try to attract any woman's attention. Personal hygiene was important to him and he had kept his black hair trimmed at shoulder length, but beyond that he had done nothing. He also know that it would not take much money and he could buy himself a woman's Warmth for a time, but he knew that would never be enough and so he chose to stay as chaste in such manners as he had been under Voldemort.

Nearly eleven years passed by with little change for the ex Death Eater. He stayed hidden away down in his dungeons, scaring small children that were foolish enough to cross his path and becoming Head of Slytherin house his second year teaching, affording him a slightly bigger living space. He still hated the world and he felt the world still hated him. His only reprieves were the nights before the fire with his books, time in his lab and yes, as much as he hated to admit it, his teaching. Even though every student that walked through his classroom doors was a complete and total dunderhead and over the years had seemed to decline into such things further with each new class, he still had a prang of pride when they graduated. Each was still a complete dunderhead as far as he was concerned and would always be (and he wondered why each new generation was denser than the last), but they for the most part had learned something useful and would be able to make some way in the world. He knew that he had at least tried to instill each one a desire for perfection in what they did and with each one he hoped they would stay as far away from what he had been through as possible.

He never showed this though, he kept up the indifferent defense and piercing scowl of disapproval for those who crossed him. He knew that the children he taught didn't like him, feared him and even made fun of him when they thought he would not hear, but he heard and he told himself he didn't care. The greasy bat in the dungeon routine at least got and kept their attentions long enough for him to impart them with some of his more benign wisdom. He knew that he would probably always be considered that by everyone and he kept telling himself he didn't care and so far it had worked. He had always gathered his defenses each school year to begin another battle, as he had gathered his billowing robes that had never helped to dispel the rumors that some thought him to be half bat, around himself and continued to teach the young minds of tomorrow what they would need to know. But this was all to change the year Lily's boy came to Hogwarts. The year his carefully built walls around his emotions and memories would begin to crumble and things would never be the same for the Potion's Professor, ever again and no matter what he did he wasn't going to be able to stop it from happening.

The First Years filled silently and awestruck into the Great Hall just as every year, that was no different, who was among their ranks was. The boy-who-lived, the 'great' Harry Potter, Lily's son. Snape sneered down from the head table at the First Years; this was going to be a trying year, a trying seven years. He glowered down at the boy who sat timidly on the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head. He looked just like his father, the scoundrel of a boy, messy black hair, same sly smile. He shuttered at the thought again that this was going to be a long seven years.

Snape's mood did not improve upon his first Potions class with the child. He was unable to answer a rather simple question that any moron should have been able to answer but instead there was one little bushy haired, bucked toothed girl next to him that believed she knew the answer and felt the need to wave her hand frantically in the air as if to stick her hand up was as important as breathing. It was obvious that the boy didn't get Lily's intelligence, only his father's arrogance. At least he wouldn't make it too hard to ridicule him as he was more his father than mother. His mood did not improve anymore when another student seemed bent on blowing the entire castle off its foundations by adding the wrong ingredients at the wrong time when he had the instructions clearly written on the board. This was going to be a _long _seven years.

The year did not improve from there. The Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher was acting even stranger than he did before and his Dark Mark seemed to twinge just a bit every time he passed Quirrell in the halls, strange indeed. Then one night Dumbledore came to him with that twinkle in his eyes, the twinkle that could only spell bad things for him.

The request that Dumbledore had brought him astonished him. He had brought it upon himself to protect the Sorcerer's Stone and had come to him and some of the other teachers to help protect it from Voldemort; Dumbledore believed that he who-must-not-be-named was back in action and Snape had to agree with him. He was flattered and honored by the request, seeing as how he had been among the Dark Lord's inner most circle, that the Headmaster had thought him worthy enough to help protect such a precious item. He would never show it though, not that at sometimes he wished that he had been able to show other emotions, but it was he was unsure about how to go about it as he had had little else beside hate and fear shown to him. He had devised something he thought that no wizard would ever be able to get past his barrier to Dumbledore's final defense. A logic test, the most brilliant wizard in the world did not necessarily have any logic what so ever and he would capitalize on that probability.

He did not know what the other tests or barriers were that the other teachers had put up, only that they had helped, but he was confident that his would be the most difficult and stop any intruder from encroaching any further into the catacombs beneath the castle. But he had not counted on that Potter boy, the darn Weasley boy and that bushy haired girl. He hadn't counted on her to seemingly so easily work through his logic test and as such allowing Potter to gain access to the final room and herself exit from the catacombs to save his sorry butt. The 'Golden Trio' as they were to become known before they graduated the bane of his existence. They were always into something they should not have their noses into and getting into trouble. The three of their personalities though they clashed on occasion were extremely complementary each helping the other two in the areas where they fell short.

He though had to concede later, and only to himself mind you, that the bushy haired twit, Hermione Granger, was really quite intelligent. He even had to concede later as he watched her through the years in his classes she wasn't just intelligent she was brilliant. He hated the fact that she always gave him at least a foot extra on any assignment that he assigned. And it was in such minuscule and delicate writing that he nearly had to get out a magnifying glass to read it, effectively making the paper if written in a normal size about four feet longer than required. But her paper was always thorough and as hard as he always tried to find fault he was always hard pressed to find one. He would have to each time begrudgingly given her the highest grade finding nothing wrong with her paper.

He was amazed by Granger's quick study of the delicate Potions making process. He watched her as she mixed and produced every Potion assigned to perfection. He was also amazed at her Potion fixing abilities, as she was in the desk next to Neville, the kid who wants to blow everything up. Normally he did not tolerate any talking in class and very few people ever did talk, he made sure of that, but she would mutter all the way through the class to that dense boy and he would watch in amazement as some horribly wrong Potion would turn the right color and look and be the same as everyone else's and work just as well. He knew very well that she was doing this and would have accepted it form no other person and was tempted not to let her. But the fact that she had averted so many different possible Potions disasters that he was content to let her help the hopeless boy. He was also completely astonished her second year by the fact she had successfully produced a ployjuice Potion. The exact reasoning behind such an endeavor were still uncertain, but the fact that she made it correctly; even though she had used the wrong type of changing additive, but it still had resulted in a full transformation, was a credit to her. He was still awestruck by the fact that anyone that young could have produced such perfection sensitive and time consuming Potion as well as keeping it secret until of course that last mistake of the wrong changing agent. He had made quite a stink and grumbling about having to create the counter Potion but he had still been impressed. Once again he would never admit that to anyone.

Watching as she grew up he was both proud that he was able to be part of her schooling and education and a little saddened as well. He challenged her for perfection every time, and every time he got perfection and on occasion she would produce Potions that were even better than perfection; how she did it with the ingredients he had provided he was never quite sure. He also watched as she slowly came out of the awkward preteen years and into her upper teens. She still had the bushy hair but she had learned how to tame it into relative submission, he guessed through magic, and she had grown into her teeth. She was well on her way to being as the muggles would say 'a bombshell', even he could see that. He knew that her generation was extremely lucky to have her. She was that rare jewel with both intelligence and beauty. He only hoped that whichever one of her friends got her, that they would be kind. He figured rather venomously that Potter would get her. Weasley was too hot headed and not as bright as his famous friend. It seemed that just like his father, he would get everything he could ever want, one more reason to hate the boy.

**A/N: alright guys there ends my next offering to you all. I would like to have 8 more reviews before I post again for a total of 14. So the sooner you guys review the sooner I get to posting again. I really appreciate all of the comments so far thanks guys. **

**Also as of May 14****th**** I have sporadic internet at best so I don't know how often I will be near a computer long enough to update regularly (don't have any internet when away from college ********). I think my friend will let me update but don't get to see her very often. **

**I have the next 4 or 5 postings already written so the sooner I get more reviews the sooner you get to read the next part. I hope to finish the story before next week, but I still have to pack up the dorm room and take finals so we shall have to see. It most definitely will be finished before August and hopefully posted before the end of that month.**


	5. Dumbledore's Final Order

**A/N: hi all again, I got to my friends house, finally, can post again, well today at least. hope you all enjoy my next fic offering. **

_Dumbledore's final order (5)_

A letter delivered to Headmistress McGonagall two days after Dumbledore's death.

Dear Minerva,

If you are reading this then Severus has done what was required. I have known about my death and who would likely dispense it ever since the beginning of the 6th year of Harry Potter's schooling. It seems that Voldemort had assigned Draco Malfoy the job of killing me, but his mother knew that he was incapable and went to Severus for help. Severus had little choice but to make the Unbreakable Vow to do the job her son could not, despite the fact he did not know what it was at the time. When he did learn of what he was to do, he came immediately to me, begging to be killed so that he would not have to carry out such a task. I in tern denied him death, he is and was a far too powerful an ally to kill. I knew that it would result in my death and accepted that, my sacrifice will hopefully cause the War to be won by our side.

What is also coming with this letter is a collection of pensives, something more precious to me than can be explained. The collection of vials holds a full account of Severus' services and the truth behind my death. There is also the information that I was able to collect on the location of the rest of the Horcuxs of Voldemort. Use this information to instruct Harry to destroy them.

For the information on Severus, guard it well. It will be instrumental at his trial, if he makes it that far, though I have faith in his abilities to survive the War. Make sure that when he is caught that he is not killed on sight and if you can keep his wand in one piece it will be very useful to him later on. Despite whatever you may feel about him right now, especially after what he had done please trust my judgments of him. He still has good in him, though much has been covered and discolored by pain and the hate directed at him.

I hope greatly that the information and memories I have stored so carefully will be enough to save him from the Wizengamot when it convenes to sentence him. I hope that they see that the man he was charged to kill had come to peace with the idea because there was no other way and that Severus will be let go a free man. He may have done some horrible things in the past, but the information and help that he has given the side of Light has been instrumental in undermining the Dark.

I don't care what you feel about the man when it comes time for the trial you are to present the pensive to the court and let me or I should say my memories to stand witness to his right to be acquitted. You are to also show them this letter that will hopefully help.

Remember the promises you made that night before school began, do not break them. If you are unsure through your grief and anger what they were I also have them in pensive to be delivered to you as well. And yes I know about Fawkes, don't worry about him, he knows exactly what he is doing.

Yours, _**Dumbledore **_

The new Headmistress of Hogwarts shakily put down the letter that had been delivered by owl from Gringgots minutes earlier. There had been a huge flock of owls that had followed the one bearing the letter and now her new desk was piled high with nearly a hundred vials of silver pensieve. Each was labeled in Dumbledore's neat script bearing the date and a two or three word description on its content. Picking up one she cradled it like a child. She remembered what she had said that night, what she had promised. She knew that she couldn't break the promises though she really wanted to hunt Severus down herself and kill him for what he had done. Yet even in death Dumbledore was protecting the man and she was obligated through her commitments and past experiences to take up the crusade to save Severus, no matter how she felt personally about the man.

Turning her chair around to face Dumbledore's portrait hanging on the wall she looked at him hard. He looked back at her as he always had over his half-moon spectacles with a sparkle in his eye. "Why?" She asked him.

"Why what?" the portrait asked back.

"Why defend him? Why didn't you kill him?"

"It's all written in the letter." The portrait said as if it had explained everything.

"But why didn't you kill him when you found out he was to kill you."

"It was but a small sacrifice, he had worked too hard to get into Voldemort's inner circle to be killed for such a thing as an assignment to kill me. He would still provide information until that time that Draco had a chance to kill me. Until that time I was quite safe and able to build a case to save him. He deserves a second chance, he has a lot of good left in him despite the fact he was to kill me. I saw his potential and his future, make sure that the world sees it, not just his past." The portrait told her before giving a big yawn and pretending to fall asleep, refusing to answer any more questions.

"I only hope your right Albus." McGonagall sighed seeing she would get no more information from the portrait. She turned back to the vials littering her desk and began the task of cataloguing each vial to be organized and viewed at a later date when she was less emotional and before the trials she knew would eventually happen.

She only briefly pondered the last sentence in the letter. Fawkes had disappeared the night Dumbledore had died and had not returned. She had vaguely wondered what had become of him, but had been too busy with other problems to give it much thought.

**A/N:** **ok guys I guess it was a bit much to ask for 8 reviews so soon in a fic, or maybe so early in the summer while people have other things to do besides read on their computers. Either that or I am weak and my resolve to wait was broken by my terrible desire to post again. Well any way, hope this chapter cleared up any confusion to Dumbledore's 'life stats'. **

**This is also one of the solo chapters so I am only going to ask for 3 more reviews before I will post again. I will be posting two chapters next time, because they go together like peanut butter and jelly- yum but I digress. I love all the support that I am getting from you guys, hope you all have a good some and enjoy this posting.**

**I would also like to extend my warmest regards to my 'new' beta, Skydancinghobbit- good friend, even edits over the phone (big smiley and hug) can't wait to see you again, have fun in the sun, but don't forget the sunscreen!**


	6. Post War Obligations

**A/N: Wow so many review so fast! and I still have internet, for tonight at least; have to run back home and unload more hay- got to feed our cows something this winter. Pray for rain and I might get to have internet again- when it rains I see my friends and shear their sheep= have internet**

_Post War Obligations (6) _

It had been six weeks since Voldemort had been defeated and oh what a bloody, horrid War it had been. Hundreds of the Wizarding World's best and worst had been laid to waste and many more wounded. Very few in the Wizarding World would ever be the same. The Ministry had been rounding up Death Eaters the whole time and sending them to Azkaban to await trial. The trials would begin in the fall, after Halloween, and that was in six months. There was too much to rebuild and people to hunt down to deflect any more resources to trials just yet, too many funerals to plan, too many dead to bury.

Hermione Granger was no exception to the suffering. She had lost her parents in the War. They had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and been decimated in what was later called by the muggle authorities to be a gas line explosion, but she knew better. She was still reeling from the realization that at nineteen she was all alone in the world. She had gone back to what was now her house shortly after Voldemort's fall to settle her family's estate and to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

She had finished out her schooling and seventh year at Hogwarts the same as the rest of her classmates, numb and saddened by the loss of Dumbledore and the apparent treason of Professor Snape. They had had a mediocre fill in for the Potions Professor and as expected graduated at the top of her class. She had also gotten what she had wanted, the highest N.E.W.T.s in the history of Hogwarts, surpassing said Potion's Professor's grades by two percent, although she felt hollow without her parents there and the War beginning to go into full swing. The year she graduated was the year that the War began to knock on every Wizarding door. The summer between their sixth and seventh year had been relatively quiet, punctuated with resounding and spectacularly horrible attacks. Voldemort was slowly rebuilding his forces and gaining new followers all the time, but he was still not able to place a full out sustained attack on the rest of the Wizarding World. That was until about halfway through the spring term. There had been a debate about ending school early that year, but Headmistress McGonagall had insisted that the year be finished out before the school got closed indefinitely.

It was three weeks before graduation that Hermione had gotten the news of her family's deaths. Luckily all of her testing was done and she had gone home for two weeks to talk to a lawyer about postponing the settling of the estate as well as plan their funerals. At the end of the two weeks she returned to everyone's surprise, insisting that she get her diploma in person, it was what her parent's would have wanted. Luckily the lawyer had been able to suspend the estate for up to one year before she would have to deal with it and for that she was grateful.

After graduating the War had lasted only 11 more months. Harry had been immediately accepted into the Ministry as an Auror. He had been instrumental in defeating Voldemort, as had been expected. Ron had also gone into the Ministry, but only after the War, though he had worked closely with his best friend throughout the War. Hermione had not joined the Ministry, but had been with her friends right through, acting as an unofficial liaison between the Ministry and the Order. She had been there and had cast the curse, along with the rest of the 'Dream Team' as well as some other Aurors, which had killed Voldemort, finally bringing an end to the horrible nightmare. Harry had been finding and destroying the other Horcuxs the summer before hand, which had diminished Voldemort to a state where he could be destroyed.

Now Hermione was able to finally grieve her parents and settle their estate. The first night after Voldemort's defeat Harry had looked at her and sent her home to her now deserted home. "You need to grieve and get things settled." He had told her. He had wanted to come with her, but had to things in his job that would not wait, despite the fact that Voldemort lay dead at their feet. Ron also was unable to come with her as he also had family to grieve, Percy and Charlie had both died and he had to be with his family. She had appropriated directly onto the front porch, thankful it was night, un-Warded the house and magically unlocked it. Locking and rewarding the door she wandered through the dark empty house and into her parent's bedroom. There she collapsed into a sobbing heap to cry herself to sleep.

She spent two days in the bed rising only to use the bathroom, but would not eat, grieving her dead parents, the friends she had lost in the War and the whole state of the world. On the third day after arriving home she finally began the task of going through her parent's belongings and deciding what she could bear to keep and what would need to be gotten rid of. A week after arriving back at her home she paid a visit to the lawyer who was overjoyed to see that she had arrived before the deadline. It took three months to completely settle the estate and put the house up on the market, she could not bear to live in the home, especially not alone.

Most of her parent's belongings had been sold or donated to charity, but her things had been put into storage. She had kept all the photos she had found as well as some of her mother's crystal and jewelry. She kept her mother's wedding dress, vowing to wear it at her wedding as a tribute, whenever that may be. She kept her father's book collection as well as some of his ties for sentimental value. She had donated her parent's clothes to charity as well as the kitchen service to a local soup kitchen. Once she was satisfied that everything she wanted to keep had been put up in storage she had sold the rest and the home. She would be notified of offers and the final sale by the broker over the coming months.

Wanting to get away from London and its suburbs she moved herself and her meager belongings to a rented apartment in the country. Her parents had always sent her to a camp in the country when she was young for the summer and that was one of the places she felt the safest, besides Hogwarts, and that was where she felt she could begin the process of healing. She had always loved horses and decided that she would get a job dealing with horses, hoping that their soothing nature and gentle patience would bring her from the depression that was slowly trying to take root. She was lucky and was able to get a job mucking out stalls at a breeding and training facility of Warm-bloods for event-ing and cross country competitions. It was a privately owned facility that had housing on site and allowed her to also learn to ride better than she had before she got there. She was also able to learn from the trainers at the barn about how to mold a young horse into a champion. She kept in loose contact with Harry and Ron, but had mostly cut herself off from the Wizarding world for the time being, preferring the predictable muggle life over the upheaval that was the Wizarding World at that time. All in all she was beginning to breathe easier again even though she would still wake up at least twice a week panicking until she realized where she was and when it was.

**A/N: Well it seems that our Hermione is doing well so far after the war. Now lets see what has become of Severus now that the war is finished and won by the Light.**

**Love all the reviews guys, keep them coming- please. And my spelling tends to be only as good as my spell check- I never claimed to be an English major, just a creative mind with possibly too much time on my hands, on occasion at least. **


	7. Azkaban

**A/N: alright all, here is where our lovely severus is after the war, and '**_**yes, Fawkes knows exactly what he is doing'**_

_Azkaban (7)_

Severus turned over again on the uncomfortable cot that furnished tiny cubicle of a cell. The only other things in the room were a two foot square table, a small stool, a small sink and a toilet, that was it. Only the tiny window that was half the size of the table gave him any fresh air or inkling of the time of day. Thankfully it was warded to let in the light and fresh air, but it would not let in an excessive amount of heat or cold, keeping the tiny cell a constant temperature. The heavy oak door on the opposite wall had only a slot to pass food through and a barred peephole of sorts for the Aurors to check on him when they saw fit. He wanted nothing more than to die or be killed instead of being caged like an animal, it was accomplishing nothing. At least his death would put him out of the misery of knowing what he had done. But death would not come; someone had made sure of that. He had been in that same cell not seeing anything besides a pair of eyes through the door every day for the last three months.

He knew he should be grateful to have lived through the War and he knew that his wand had not been broken, which he had not understood. He didn't have his wand with him, for obvious reasons, but he knew it was still in one piece, somewhere. He could vaguely remember hearing the Potter boy, yes that is who had discovered him and taken him in, fighting with someone else. It seems that there had been direct orders from someone with power that he was not to be harmed or his wand broken. He had been hit with a body binding curse, but he had been too far into his grief to even care what happened to him or put up a fight for those who had come to get him.

He had been hiding out in the Shrieking Shack when he had been caught. He had barely existed ever since the night he was forced to carry out the dirty deed of killing Dumbledore. He had faithfully gone to the calls of Voldemort and went through the motions, relying on his skills as a spy to keep himself alive, though he wanted to die.

Now that he was caged he had stopped eating more than once every couple of days and he knew he would die of starvation soon enough and let those who wanted him dead get their wish. But there was now something that prevented him from actually finishing the job of killing himself, in the slow agonizing manner which he had chosen; Fawkes.

Fawkes had come to him a week before in the night. How the huge Phoenix had managed to squeeze between the bars of the postage stamp of the window, or even get past the Wards was a mystery to him. He also knew that the Aurors did not let him in. That was the first time he had seen a full person in a long time, the day that Fawkes arrived. They had come in to try to remove the bird, but Fawkes had flown out of their reach, pecked and scratched at hands that tried to grab him. Finally they had given up and let Fawkes stay in the room with Severus. Severus had been put into a body bind when they had come into the room as an assurance he wouldn't try to leave, so even if he had wanted to help catch the bird he couldn't.

When they were alone Severus regarded the majestic creature that perched precariously on the edge of his sink, regarding him with an intelligent eye.

"Why are you here?" He asked him, not really expecting an answer, but feeling he must at least ask.

'_Because I had to choose a new companion.'_ A soft voice said in his mind. _'Because I have chosen you and you need my help.'_ The bird looked straight into Snape's eyes, performing its own form of Legilimency.

"What!?" Severus' mouth hung open in surprise for as much as he had gotten an answer as well as what he had been told.

'_When Dumbledore died I had to find a new companion, one that is both powerful and true of heart.'_ The bird told him. _'You are who I have chosen. You need to stop trying to kill yourself and get better. You still have a good long while before you die and lots of important and good things to do.'_

"I am no longer powerful and am far from true of heart." Severus said bitterly. "You had best find yourself a new companion and leave me be. I have nothing good left in me. I killed Dumbledore. I killed him, my only real friend; I looked him in the eyes and killed him. I could have saved him, I had the Potions I needed in my lab to save him, but no, he told me I had no choice. I lifted my wand pointed at him, and I killed him. Did you know that stupid bird? Did you know I was the one to kill your last companion?"

'_Yes, I know what you did, have done and why you did most of them. Do you forget that I was perched in the room every time you met with Dumbledore? I knew you were to kill him and I knew when you accomplished your morbid task.'_ The bird told him.

"Then why are you here if you know all this? What could you possibly want with me now that Dumbledore is dead?" Severus growled.

'_I have told you, I have chosen you as my new companion. You are very powerful in your own right and you are true of heart. I can see it; Dumbledore could see it and you should be able to see it, though I can see that your past is clouding your vision of the future. You will have to begin to let things go in order for you to heal. I can help only so much, you will have to do most of the work.'_ Fawkes told him almost sternly.

"There are far worthier wizards for you to choose than me." Snape told him. "Even that beastly Potter boy is more of a worthy companion than I."

'_Harry Potter is powerful, yes, there is no denying that, but most of his potential is used up. He is a very powerful wizard with what he knows and a lot of his power comes from the fact of who he is and while he has a true heart it was not a match. I have helped him in the past and helped him to defeat the Basilisk, but he did not have the fire that I need in a companion. _

_I have spent the last year combing the globe, looking for the right match, though I had already come to the conclusion that you were to be my next companion. I knew that you would call me hasty if I come to you immediately and it was too dangerous for both of us, had I in the days following Dumbledore's death. I knew early on when I first observed you and glimpsed inside you that you were to be my next companion. My search over the last year has only come to verify what I already knew. Dumbledore knew this as well before he died. He agreed and gave his blessings.'_ Fawkes told the bewildered Snape. _'You provide the unique mixture of heart, fire and power that I seek in a companion, you past is not my concern, only the future and what you can do to change it for the better.'_

"I can't believe that you think I am the best match for you. You are they symbol of power, rebirth and good. I am and deserve none of those things; I can never do enough to make up for the fact that I killed my friend and participated, directly and indirectly in the deaths of countless others. Nothing I do will ever atone for that."

'_No, whatever you do won't bring them back, that is correct. But you lying in that bed, trying to starve yourself to death won't accomplish anything either. You are capable of doing great and helpful things for the Wizarding Community that will help ease the suffering that so many experience. Dumbledore's death so that you would not die should not be made in vain. You have to pull yourself out of the gutters of life and get back on your feet. You have too much perseverance to just lie down and die like a dog.' _The cheeky bird challenged him. _'That is part of the reason I chose you, you don't give up. Besides if you try to give up I won't let you, I won't be able to find another companion for a good long while, so you are stuck with me. My decision is final and once my mind is made up I can't and won't change it.'_

"What good can I do the world locked away here in this cell?" Snape asked Fawkes. "I will be sentenced to death, of that I am sure. There are no witnesses in my defense and I know I killed Dumbledore and many others, I am not about to deny that. I will deserve whatever sentence they hand down to me. You will have to find another companion sooner than you think."

'_The sentence they will hand down will be just,'_ Fawkes agreed. _'But I doubt death will be in order, freedom and acquittal is going to be more the order of the day. There are those that will stand in the gap and give you good witness. And for putting something good in the world, well you have trained many of the top Mediwitches of the age. Without your perfectionism and discipline in your classes, many a witch and wizard would have died, especially in this War, from lack of knowledge and skill at brewing the correct Potions. You also have patented and are still receiving royalties on a few powerful and extremely useful Potions which are widely used. You should give yourself credit where credit is due.'_

"You are delusional bird." Severus snorted. "It seems though that both I and the Aurors who tried to get you earlier will not avail in making you leave. So I will choose to ignore you until I die. Let me die in peace is all I ask." He told Fawkes and lay down, covering his head with the thin blanket, effectively shutting out the bird.

Fawkes shook his head in an almost human manner while on the sink. Severus would learn soon enough the effectiveness of the healing powers of the Phoenix and that once he had chosen a new companion that there was nothing that could dislodge his logic and commitment to that person. Fawkes knew that inside of Snape was the man that he wanted to be, the man that Fawkes would be the most powerful with. Now all he had to do was allow Severus the time and secondhand power from him that he would need to nurture the small flame inside into a raging inferno. He would just have to wait a while though, this man was broken and would need time to heal before he would or could grow. Fawkes was patient he could wait. Leaning down Fawkes drank from the faucet and settled in to wait until Severus fell asleep again before he would begin his own part in healing him.

**A/N: well here ends my next posting, and if I spelled any of the major important words wrong, blame the person who wrote the dictionary I found online. I am still stranded from my copies of the books so please bare with me on this. ( if you haven't already guessed, spelling was never my strong point- ever). **

**I would like to have 6 more reviews before I post again and then when I can get internet, pray for rain- then I can get to my friends house and post again. hope you all have a good summer and thanks for all the reviews, I really do enjoy seeing what people think of what I write. **


	8. For the Love of a Horse

**A/N: well, well, well, I hope everyone has had a chance to read the last Harry Potter book, I know I thought it was very good. But on to something else I suppose, that is why you are all here. **

**Here is the next installment in my little story. Here you will meet our dear little Prince Charming, who is and has been soooooo much fun to write (you will see what I mean in a later chapter). I am only giving you one chapter this time, but it is long enough to be two I suppose. The chapters after this one go too well together to be broken up, so you will just have to wait until I post again to see what I mean.**

_For the love of a horse (8)_

It was a month after he was born and two months after Hermione had arrived at the barns when they found his mother dead in her stall for no obvious reason. Later a necropsy revealed a piece of wire was the cause of death, where the mare had found it was a mystery, but it had punctured her stomach wall and been driven into her heart cavity causing massive internal bleeding. Now the young colt was left without a mother and was weak and sickly by the time they found them in the morning. The barn manager tried his best to keep the colt on his feet, but could not and he soon went down beside his mother and would not get up. Hermione watched in horror as her favorite baby teetered on the edge of life. The manager had managed to force feed him something, but it would not sustain him for long.

"Let me try to take care of him," she told the manager the second day. The colt did nothing but neigh in increasingly weaker tones for his mother and was only eating by way of gastric tube.

"I have done everything I can for that baby." The manager said. "I have been around horses longer than you have been alive; when they want to die as much as this baby wants to, there is little to nothing that you can do to save them. It is a real shame to, he has the blood and it looked as if he had the drive to be a powerful horse when he grew up. He would have been a prize winner for sure."

"If I can keep him alive and make him want to live, can I have him?" Hermione asked after a moment's thought.

"I don't think you will be able to keep him alive, he has lost the will to live, but if you think you can do what I can't then go right ahead and try. It will be my loss either way. If he dies I will be unable to sell him and if he lives and I give him to you then I also will be unable to sell him. But I would hate to see that creature die, so I will agree to what you ask. If you think you can save him then go ahead and try, and if you are successful then you may keep him as a trophy of sorts."

"Thank you." Hermione said. "I won't let him die. All I ask for now is for you to draw up a paper that states what we have agreed; that way title of the horse will pass to me and you will have a record of where the horse went so that there will be no misunderstandings in the future."

"You cover all your bases don't you?" The manager said, eyeing the young girl with a mixture of awe and surprise. She was so sure that she would be able to save this colt. "All right, if you can keep him alive through the night then I will have the papers drawn up in the morning. From my experience that baby won't make it through the night. If you can keep him alive then I will believe it's worth my time to draw up the papers."

"Thank you sir." Hermione said. "I will sign the papers tomorrow."

"Good luck." The manager said as she went out the office door to the stalls. "You will need it to get through the night." She nodded and went out to the colt.

Entering the stall she went to where the little one lay in the sawdust. He lifted his head weakly to look at her and give a soft fragile nicker. Laying her hand along his ribcage she could feel his heart beating beneath her hand, it had grown weaker since she had checked last and he was more lethargic than before. The vet had come out earlier and had said there was nothing physically wrong with him but he was obviously going down.

"You aren't alone baby." She said stroking his neck. "I will be here with you tonight. I will be right back; I have to go get you something to eat so that you don't die of starvation." The baby just flopped his head back down and closed his eyes.

She slipped out of the stall, closing it behind her. She had spent last night brewing in her bathroom in her apartment, knowing that there was little else that could help this baby once the vet had said there was nothing medically wrong. She had made pep-up Potions and strengthening Potions that would help improve the quality and availability of the food she was hoping to get in the baby. She had bottled both in vials and put them in the bottom of her purse that morning, hoping that the manager would agree to let her care for the foal. The idea of requesting ownership was more of a last minute decision. Somehow she just thought it was the right thing to ask for.

She went into the bathroom and began to ready a couple of bottles of milk replacer for the baby and then grabbed blankets from the closet that had been used for foal watch. Once she had readied the bottles she grabbed a vial each of the pep-up and strengthening Potions from her purse and put them in her pockets, she would add them last. Then she piled a couple flakes of hay next to the baby's head and laid the blankets across them to make a bed. Then she covered the baby with another blanket and curled up next to his head. He had looked sadly up at her when she had walked in again and had done little more than pick up his head. She put a Warming spell on the bottles to keep them ready. Finally when she was ready she poured a little of each Potion into one bottle and cradled the baby's head in her lap.

Cooing softly and stroking the underside of his neck she squirted the milk into his mouth. She held his mouth closed and induced him to swallow by stroking his neck, trying to keep as much milk in his mouth as she could. All the while she cuddled his head and made soothing sounds. She was unsure if the Potions would do what she wanted, but she was hoping they would affect the young horse as they did for people. Obviously the pep-up Potion had some effect as he seemed to grow a little stronger, fighting a little more when she held his mouth shut. Offering the bottle to him she was astonished the he took a sip of his own accord, something he hadn't done in two days. He eventually ate only a tiny fraction of what he was supposed to be eating, only about a quarter of a bottle, when he could have eaten the whole thing, but she counted it as a victory. The baby laid his head back down in her lap and went back to sleep after eating. Hermione lay down beside his head and continued to stroke his neck, letting him know she was there until she too fell asleep.

She was awakened some time later in the night by the baby poking her with his nose; he was hungry and asking to be fed. She quickly complied, feeding him more than before, nearly half a bottle; it seemed that whatever she was doing it was working. After he ate he would go back to sleep and so would she. This went on throughout the night. She even had to get up in the night and prepare new bottles so she could keep feeding him. The next morning the barn manager found her with two empty bottles and a much healthier looking foal sleeping next to her in the stall. He was astonished that she had succeeded in making the colt eat when no one else had. He didn't wake her as he turned and went to his office; he would have to draw up ownership transfer papers after all. When Hermione got up that morning and went past the office on her way to the bathroom to prepare yet another set of bottles the manager called her in.

"Well it seems that I owe you a horse." He told her.

"Yes it does. Thank you." She said. "It was a hard night and I believe I will be sleeping in the stall for a while if he is to come through."

"I dare say it must have been, you look as though you haven't had any sleep."

"I got a little but once I got a little bit of food in him he wanted a little more after a nap and it just kept going like that."

"I see, that is something I never expected that little horse to be able to do, or you for that matter. I have not seen anyone bring a horse that close to death back from the brink."

"Thank you." She said.

"Well all you have to do is sign here and he is yours." He said pushing a paper across the table with a pen. "And there is the issue of a name. I can't give him to you until he has a name to distinguish him from the other babies we have here."

"Prince Charming." She said after a moment of thought, it just sort of fits him.

"Prince Charming it is then." The manager said. "I don't get where you girls come up with the names though. The ones with the funny names are usually named by women." He shook his head. "Well just sign here and he will be all yours."

"Thank you again." She said after reading and then signing the contract in front of her, giving her full ownership of the black colt. There were other papers that she also had in a folder now, showing his pedigree and the DNA paper to prove it, as well as a registration paper that she only had to send in now that the baby had a name.

"Well, just like you said earlier, he isn't out of the woods yet, but you kept him alive last night and he is eating again. How you did it I don't know, but I applaud you for it. You now own a potentially very valuable horse, I expect you to treat him accordingly."

"I wouldn't dream of anything else."

"Good, now you had better get him fed again and get some cores done, you are still working here and I need a reason to give you a paycheck."

"Yes sir." She said and scampered off.

It was two days later and Prince had yet to get up. He still lay weakly on his side and would only eat for her. She had stopped spiking his bottles with Potions after the first day and he had not improved anymore, but he hadn't deteriorated further, which was a bit of progress in itself. She had spent every free second looking through her old Potions books looking for one that would apply to horses but couldn't find one. Then she vaguely remembered something Harry had written her.

He had said something about Snape being in Azkaban and still alive. He was the most learned and knowledgeable Potions Master that she knew of in the Wizarding World, and although she had been away from the Wizarding Community for an extended period of time she knew that there were none his equal. True he had killed Dumbledore, but there was the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that there was something more than the actual act that had caused what transpired. Her curiosity was high, but she knew the likely hood of getting a straight answer out of her former Potions Professor about his past was as likely as being able to sit peacefully on the branches of the Wamping Willow. But in her heart she trusted him, even though her head told her she shouldn't.

Writing to Harry that night when she stopped home for a shower and a change of clothes she requested to go visit him at Azkaban. She knew it was a long shot and didn't even know if they would accept a visitor, but she figured if anyone could get her in it was Harry. She got her reply the next day, early in the morning, by an owl that flew down into the stall with her.

Dear Hermione,

I don't understand why you want to see Snape, but I could tell from you letter that you feel that it is important. I have pulled a few strings at Azkaban and can get you in to see him tomorrow for a few minutes. Meet me at the Ministry at 9AM and I will take you there. I will go with you as a body guard of sorts. I don't want you in the same room as he is alone, especially before the trials start in the fall; although Fawkes has fared rather well with him for about three months now.

Yes, Dumbledore's Phoenix has taken up residence in Azkaban with one Severus Snape and will not be budged. More than one Auror has come away with scratches from the bird that will not be dislodged and sits defiantly on his sink or I have heard, on Snape at night. Why and even how Fawkes got in there is a mystery, but I guess we can all take heart that Snape hasn't killed him yet, or even the other way around. Fawkes is a powerful creature. Maybe you can get to the bottom of it when you visit,

Yours, **Harry**

Fawkes was with Snape in his cell and would not be dislodged? That seemed rather odd, she thought, reading the last bit over again. Fawkes had been Dumbledore's constant companion, why and for that matter, how was he with his past companion's murderer? There was definitely something that was not readily apparent that was going on. She would have to ask Snape about it if he would answer her when she went to see him the next day. When the barn manager came through again she told him that she would need the middle of the next day off to go and talk to an old friend about Prince. The manager reluctantly agreed, but told her that she would have to be back before evening chores at six. She agreed and went on with her daily chores, wondering at the letter and what Harry had said.

Early the next morning, after the morning chores and Prince's feeding she excused herself and ran home to get a much needed shower. She grabbed her wand and quickly spelled herself dry and her hair into something that she hoped looked professional, and grown up. Then she dressed in comfortable jeans and t-shirt and grabbed her old school robes she had kept. She transfigured them into something more adult and then stood to look in the mirror. She hoped that she looked older than the young school girl that she had been last time she had seen Snape and more together than Harry had seen her last. She looked drawn, but then again she hadn't slept in a bed in almost a week or had been able to sleep for more than an hour or two to feed Prince. With a sigh and a little make up she apparted to the Ministry Headquarters a few minutes late. She went into the lobby to ask about Harry. She never made it to the desk as Harry was waiting by the door.

"Gosh Hermione are you alright? You look like you've been through a lot lately. Are you ok, are you sure you want to go see Snape?"

"Yes Harry, I'm fine and I do want to see Snape, he is the only one who will be able to help me. So when is telling a friend you haven't seen in a while that they look like crap supposed to be a normal greeting? I know I haven't been away for that long." She said with a weak smile as Harry gave her a hug and looked her up and down carefully.

"You know that isn't what I meant," he said.

"I know, but you are right, I have been through quite a lot lately. I have acquired myself a rather valuable horse through an agreement with the place I work now. He is quite ill and I don't know what to do with him, the vet can do nothing more for him and I have been doing the best I can with the Potions I know. Snape is the one who knows more than anyone and with his knowledge I hope to get my baby on his feet again before he kills himself from being down too long. I still trust Snape to some degree, why I can't tell you because I don't know. I just can feel that there is more to the man and why he did what he did than meets the eye." She confessed.

"I can't believe what I am hearing you say, but I know you are not the only one who feels this way. The only reason he was not killed on sight was because McGonagall forbid us. Normally she would have no say with the Ministry, but there seemed to be something else that leant power to her words that made the Ministry listen. I have yet to find out what it was, but it was powerful enough to keep both him alive and his wand unbroken." Harry told her. "I have been too busy to go and ask her. She also has been busy from what I have heard getting the school back up and ready for students; to come back for school next year after the trials and a summer of healing. Where have you been lately though?"

"I have been in the countryside. I have been working on a muggle horse training and breeding farm. It has helped me get back to something of normalcy. We had a mare die and leave behind a young colt. He refused to eat and would not come around. I convinced the manager and owner of the mare and the foal to let me try to save it, he had little to no hope for him. I was able to get him to eat and now he will only eat for me. I have been sleeping in his stall for the last week and he has gotten an appetite again. I could not let him just kill himself from grief and I could not watch another being die as a result of sadness and despair. I convinced the manager that if I was able to keep him alive that first night to sign him over to me. He has quite the pedigree and will be a powerful horse one day if I can get him better. He has not gotten up in over a week and I fear that if he doesn't get up soon that he will have to be put down, despite the progress he had made. It is not good for him to not move for that long. I need to learn what I can from Snape, I am sure that he will be able to help my baby get more of a will to live." She told him.

"That is admirable, but I must tell you that I don't expect him to give you any information, he has been locked away from the world for six months now and I can't imagine he will be in a helping kind of mood. But perhaps you can get something out of him. Though I hope you know what you are doing, this must be one valuable animal for you to want to go see the wretched man."

"This baby means a lot to me, he has been the only thing that I have a chance to save. I need something that won't hurt my heart to love and love me back. I need to feel like I have done something good and right after all that went wrong during the War and settling my parent's affairs." She sniffed remembering her parents, their deaths still fresh in her memory.

"Well Ron is still single." Harry teased taking her mind to something no less volatile but more normal.

"You know very well that we would both be very unhappy Harry Potter." She said raising herself up to her full height and eyes flashing dangerously. They had tried dating briefly in their seventh year and things had not ended well, but they had been able to keep a fragile friendship after the breakup.

"Now that is more like the Hermione I know." Harry chuckled. "Come we have an appointment we must get to, the Warden won't appreciate it if we are late. I may be Head Auror, but I had to work hard to even get a consideration to let anyone see Snape. It would not do well to be late."

"I agree, lead on, how will we be getting there? I don't know where Azkaban is, so if we are apparating then you will have to perform a side along." She told him, getting down to the business at hand.

"That is good. We will be apparating, and we will need to go back outside to do that though." He led her out to the front of the building and around the corner to what looked like an entrance to a subway station. Once they had gone down one of the flights of stairs he grabbed her around the waist and she held onto him as they disappeared with a pop.

When Hermione opened her eyes again she was standing near the edge of a chilly windswept cliff that dropped down to some rather sharp looking rocks battered by the surf. Turning around she saw that they stood on the beginnings of a gravel path that lead away from the cliff.

"Where are we?" She asked. "I thought we were going to Azkaban."

"We are, this is the closest apparation point. We have about a mile to go before we get to the prison grounds." Harry told her, taking her hand and leading her along the path towards the trees that loomed menacingly a few hundred feet away. We should have some horses waiting for us just inside the trees. The Warden did not want any people wondering around the grounds unaccompanied, no matter who they are. I suspect that he will be our personal tour guide so to speak." Harry told her.

"I can't imagine that they get many tourists." Hermione smiled.

"I would dare say not. Now you do know you will have to go through some rather invasive procedures to get in or out to this place, do you really want to do this? There is still time to back out."

"When was the last time you saw me back away from anything I have set my mind to?"

"Good point, alright, it looks like our ride is already here." He said pointing to three horses standing beneath the looming trees beside the path ahead of them. "Good day Warden, I am so glad you allowed us to come and talk to Severus today." Harry told him cordially.

"Good to see you again Harry Potter, and good to see that you are still with us Miss Granger, correct?"

"Yes sir." She nodded.

"So it is you that wants to see the wretched murder; why a pretty young thing like you wants to even look as such horrid man as that is a mystery to me. That and why Dumbledore's Phoenix has anything to do with him, very determined bugger."

"I know that, Fawkes helped me out of a tight pinch my second year." Harry nodded. "That bird has a strong will and mind of his own, I am sure there is a logical explanation for his presence and persistence here."

"I don't know, not everything seems to make sense anymore with the War and all." The Warden shrugged. "Well here are your horses, if you want to see him soon then you will have to choose a mount." He motioned to the horses standing beside his own; there was a grey and a chestnut mare.

"Which would you like?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I think I will ride the grey, I see too many chestnuts in the barns at home."

"Very well." Harry said and rather awkwardly climbed aboard the chestnut who gave him a look that plainly said she was not happy to have such an ill suited rider. Hermione alighted on to her grey and settled comfortably into the saddle. Once it seemed that Harry won't fall off the Warden began to lead them through the woods towards the prison.

"Harry, when was the last time you rode a horse?" Hermione asked with a chuckle after the chestnut tried almost successfully to dump him on the ground by walking particularly close to a very low hanging branch; Harry had somehow managed to duck low enough to miss.

"Last month when I came to do a check on the prison."

"And was that your first time riding?" She asked trying not to laugh.

"No, my second." Harry mumbled going rather red.

"It shows," she laughed. "You are lucky she is being nice about trying to unseat you. There is a saying among the muggle horsemen, 'Hell hath no wrath like a chestnut mare'. Just be glad she hasn't taken that to heart."

"If that was supposed to make me feel better I can say it doesn't." Harry grumbled.

"All you need is some practice, and a better seat, it would give you more control over the situation." She giggled as the horse walked precariously close to a tree and narrowly avoided scraping him off her back like one may scrape a piece of gum off the sole of your shoe. Harry mumbled something incoherent and held on tighter to the horse's mane.

The security measures at the prison were heavy. There were Wards that would maim and injure those who were not welcome to leave or to enter, as well as extremely dangerous looking guard dogs stationed at the front entrance. Harry and the Warden lead her past the first Wards into a small windowless room in the building. There she was subjected to Veritaserum to ensure she was truthful about her reasoning for coming to the prison. She was also required to relinquish her wand to one of the Aurors, she could pick it up on her way back out. The thing that she insisted upon being able to keep was one medium empty vial that she had thought to bring with her. She wasn't quite sure why she would need it, but she felt that it was important to keep it with her at all times. After a brief discussion it was decided that she would be allowed to keep it. She was ushered through a maze of brightly lit hallways until they reached a nondescript heavy door that looked just like the countless other doors that she had passed by.

"This is it." Harry told her. "You are sure you want to do this?"

"Yes Harry, I'm sure, besides I am here, can't very well back out now."

"Ok." He turned to the door and the Warden removed the slip in front of the eye hole.

"Severus Snape, you have a visitor. Are you decent enough to be seen?" The Warden called through the hole.

"Go away; I want no pity from anyone. I only want to be left to die in peace, now only if that darn bird would let me. Leave!" She heard the Snape's voice echo from the cell.

"Told you he wouldn't want to help." Harry told Hermione.

"Can I say something to him?" She asked the Warden.

"Well you are here to see him." The Warden says. "I can't very well forbid you from talking to him as I can my Aurors."

"Thank you." She said and then stepped up to the door. The eye slit was about six inches too high for her, but she yelled at the hole anyway. "Professor, you will not be getting any pity from me. I have come to ask you some questions that I know only you can answer because you are the smartest and most knowledgeable Potions Master alive. You have the knowledge that I would like, and you can choose to give it to me freely or keep it locked away. The choice is yours, but I would prefer it if you wouldn't try to kill yourself, and I am sure Fawkes would appreciate it too. I know that depression is hard, but there are ways to climb out of the pit."

"What do you know of how I suffer?" Came Snape's voice and she saw a pair of eyes come out of the gloom behind the door and peer down at her. "So the little know-it-all doesn't know it all." He glared. "And her famous friend come to gloat I'm sure." He spat out, looking at Harry.

"Severus…" the Warden began, lifting his wand.

"No," Hermione said putting her hand up and stopping the Warden from hexing the man. "He has a right to know why I am here, despite the fact that he is being far less then civil. Though I cannot say that has changed much from my time at Hogwarts; at least here he can't take away House Points.

I still want to talk to him face to face; he is human after all and has yet to be convicted of anything officially. Besides even if he had been, I can imagine being denied the sight of another human being for so long can't be good for someone."

"You actually want to go in there and talk to him?!" The Warden seemed shocked. "I honestly don't recommend it Miss. He is a dangerous man."

"He may be, but I survived six years of Potions with him, I can survive the worst of what he can do to me where he is now." She told the Warden who replaced the slip in front of the eye hole cutting off the eyes from the light, eyes that had been full of anger, shock and despair.

"I don't believe it would be a good idea." The Warden said again.

"I will go in with her." Harry told the man. "If he tries anything remotely threatening I will hex him into next week, and believe me I will."

"All right. I will stand out here by the door. If I hear anything the least bit suspicious I will be in there to hex him with you."

"Agreed." Hermione said. "Now can you open the door and let me in?"

The Warden complied with a grim look and opened the door into the dimly lit cell and let Harry and Hermione in; closing the door with a resonating thud, the lock clicking shut behind them. The dim interior closed around them and Harry stood at the ready as if Snape were to jump from a dark corner to attack him.

**A/N: Here ends my latest offering. Thanks to everyone who has posted a review, I really love to hear what you think. For those of you who have been up in arms about my spelling/grammar I have been fixing the first few chapters and will be reposting them. There will be NO chapter content changes, only an improvement in the spelling arena. **

**For those who would like to read an absolutely wonderful fanfic I would suggest that you go over to Skydancinghobbit, Romancing the Shadows. I am sure my 'sister' would be most happy to hear any comments you have about her fic as well. I know I just love the fic and want nothing more than for her to update all the time. **

**I would like there to be 4 more reviews on my board before I can post again please. That should give me enough time to get back to college and have reliable constant internet again (YEAH!!!!)**


	9. Visitors and Adversaries

**A/N:** **well I guess that I have to update again before I get back to campus. Luckily I have figured out how to update from someplace other than a single friends house. Well here is what our poor Snape experiences while in Azkaban.**

_Visitors and Adversaries (9)_

Snape was pulled from his inner thoughts of guilt, self pity and self hate by the sound of the eye-hole cover being slid away and letting in a stream of bright light. Normally he would not have bothered to notice or acknowledge such a thing, but it was at an abnormal time and something seemed different about the occasion.

"Severus Snape, you have a visitor. Are you decent enough to be seen?" The Warden called through the hole.

"Go away; I want no pity from anyone. I only want to be left to die in peace, now only if that darn bird would let me. Leave!" He growled, he did not want visitors and what made this person think that he would open his door willingly, if he could have, in the first place. He had only seen the Aurors who periodically came to try to take Fawkes away, who would not be moved and the occasional house elf that would change his sheets.

"Told you he wouldn't want to help." He heard a familiar yet in-often heard voice say.

"Can I say something to him?" A woman's voice said, a woman's voice? It was a woman that wanted to talk to him, now this was worth getting up to see who the fool of a woman was.

"Well you are here to see him." The Warden said. "I can't very well forbid you from talking to him as I can my Aurors."

"Thank you." He heard the woman say, her eyes did not come to the eye slot as the Warden's had, but the woman spoke confidently nonetheless. "Professor, you will not be getting any pity from me, I have come to ask you some questions that I know only you can answer because you are the smartest and most knowledgeable Potions Master alive. You have the knowledge that I would like, and you can choose to give it to me freely or keep it locked away. The choice is yours, but I would prefer it if you wouldn't try to kill yourself, and I am sure Fawkes would appreciate it too. I know that depression is hard, but there are ways to climb out of the pit."

"What do you know of how I suffer?" He snarled, hearing what she had said and stalking his way to the door to press his eyes to the eye slot. He looked down and to his astonishment stood Hermione Granger. She was dressed conservatively in loose fitting robes, but there was no denying she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Though he could see she looked tired and drawn, the War must have been hard on her too. "So the little know-it-all doesn't know it all." He glared. "And her famous friend come to gloat I'm sure." He spat out looking at Harry, he had no patience for the idle chatter of this woman that had been one of his top students. Though in his mind he believed that if she had gone through the trouble of coming to stand before his cell door that he would hear what it was eventually. But he wasn't going to make it easy for her to get the information she wanted out of him. He knew of her tenacity, if she wanted the information bad enough he would be obliged to give it, if he knew the answer.

"Severus…" the Warden began, lifting his wand.

"No," Hermione said putting her hand up and stopping the Warden from hexing him. "He has a right to know why I am here, despite the fact that he is being far less then civil. Though I cannot say that has changed much from my time at Hogwarts; at least here he can't take away House Points.

I still want to talk to him face to face; he is human after all and has yet to be convicted of anything officially. Besides even if he had been, I can't imagine being denied the sight of another human being for so long can be good for someone." He was shocked not only by the fact that this vision was standing before his eyes, but despite the urging of both the Warden and Harry, she would approach him in the same room. He did not see her wand, and he suspected that it had been taken as a precaution. But Harry held his at the ready as did the Warden. He would have given her more credit than that, she was either incredibly brave or she was naive to his power. He knew she was not naive to many things, but he found it hard to believe that even a Gryffindor could be that brave. He was a dangerous man, a murder, what young woman in her right mind would willingly go into a cell with such a man? He would have to see what this was about.

"You actually want to go in there and talk to him?!" The Warden seemed shocked. "I honestly don't recommend it Miss. He is a dangerous man."

"He may be, but I survived six years of Potions with him, I can survive the worst of what he can do to me where he is now." He heard her say before the slip was replaced in front of his eyes, cutting off his view and putting him back into darkness. He wasn't quite sure what was going to happen now, and he decided that she would be swayed otherwise and went back to his cot. Fawkes hummed melodiously from his perch on the sink. He sent a glare back at the bird who caught his eye and began his talk again.

'_You really have to be nicer to people Severus; you have more friends and will gain more friends than you think, especially if you don't try to drive them away.'_

"That girl is not my friend; no one is my friend, they are right not to be my friends." He said rather venomously.

'_You have to lighten up. I'm your friend, though not the same as a human. I have offered my friendship and you can choose to accept friendship or not, the offer still stands. But you are the one I have chosen, so even if you feel that I am not your friend, you are stuck with me.'_ Fawkes told him, almost giving a laugh. _'You will give yourself some major health problems in your older age if you don't let things go. Ulcers are never fun to deal with.'_

"What do you know about it?" He said and looked away, denying the bird anymore conversation and sitting on the edge of his cot.

Then he was surprised by the sound of the door unlocking. He watched carefully as both Hermione and Harry entered his room and the door clicked shut behind them. Hermione stood as if she entered the lion's den regularly and it was nothing but a daily occurrence. Harry on the other hand looked like he would jump out of his skin if a pin dropped on the floor. If Severus had been a man to smile at such things he would have. He watched from the edge of his cot as they stood quietly waiting for their eyes to adjust. He did not make any attempt to rise from his cot and kept his hands where they could be seen on his lap, he held no illusions of Potter's jumpiness and what he could do. Harry was a powerful wizard in his own right, not as powerful as himself but, as he was at a disadvantage he knew it wise to be exceedingly obliging in such a situation. He waited patiently for them to make the first move.

**A/N: Poor Snape, stuck in a cell with such an outspoken bird and made to submit to those who come into his cell. Well, never fear it won't last too much longer. Please review!**


	10. Keeper of the Phoenix

**A/N: well here is the long awaited explanation to why exactly Fawkes is now pestering our Severus. He really is quite an amazing critter.**

_Keeper of the Phoenix (10)_

As Hermione had entered the small cell she was accosted with the smell of sweat, unwashed bodies and total despair; just faintly though she could almost taste a small, but strong thread of defiance and determination. As she allowed her eyes to adjust to the dim light she surveyed the room. It was horribly small and dark. The only color in the place was Fawkes' crimson and gold feathers over in the corner where he was perched precariously on the sink. Turning her attention to the hunched figure on the edge of the cot she was both saddened and amazed by the condition of the man before her. The once intimidating and imposing figure of a man that Severus Snape had been was all but gone. It had been replaced by a nearly skeletal and drawn figure with sunken, haunted eyes. She was reminded of the pictures she had seen in her muggle history book of the concentration camp victims. She was genuinely concerned and felt compassion for the man that had made her life a living hell for six years.

She had grown to respect him in her fourth year, though she still had a healthy dose of dislike for the man, she had learned of his life as a spy by accident on one of her trips to the kitchens for a late night snack. She had taken to occasionally borrowing Harry's invisibility cloak on late night study sessions when she got hungry, as well as cover for observing the House Elves' actions, mainly in concern with S.P.E.W. and her liberation efforts (which she now saw as futile but nonetheless interesting part of her past). She had though tried to please him in class, providing the best Potions of the class while preventing disastrous outcomes in Neville's cauldron when she thought he wasn't looking. She had wanted his approval, though he had never given it to her. The worst part about it was that she had realized in her seventh year when he was no longer teaching at Hogwarts, that despite her dislike for him she felt lost without his deep voice thundering through the dungeon classroom. Potions class was just 'blah' when he wasn't teaching it, no occasion to rise to and no arrogant expectations to meet and exceed, no velvet growl to make her blood boil and anger rise. There just wasn't anything exciting about Potions anymore. Of course the whole notion of mixing, brewing and experimenting was exciting and interesting, but without the ridiculously high standards to attain for the approval of the hard man; she just wasn't interested like she had been before.

Fawkes watched as Snape sat more patiently than ever on his bed and the two new people stood next to the door. He had seen them both before and had helped the boy defeat the Basilisk. The girl he knew from her exploits with the boy, as well as some of her own that had transpired. She had also been in Snape's mind, for he had been carefully sorting through the broken man's thoughts and memories. He had not been invited to do so by Severus, but as he had spent many hours staring off into space, Fawkes had taken advantage of the opportunity and had been doing what he could while Severus' mind wandered.

Fawkes had been carefully keeping Snape alive ever since he had arrived. He was still eating a bare minimum of food and it would have barely sustained him for much longer. So as a result Fawkes had taken it upon himself to slowly heal him wither he liked it or not. He saw this man's potential and would not let him extinguish it so foolishly. He had spent nearly every night perched on his side, though every night there would be a struggle to get him off. When Snape finally fell asleep Fawkes would cry, carefully letting each tear slide down his beak and into Severus' mouth as he breathed. His tears had healing properties, but he knew that there was a limit to what he could do, especially when this man did not really want to get better. He felt that the presence of these two would either make or break the situation. From what he had heard of the conversation before the slip had been replaced, he had high hopes. He began to hum quietly in his corner of the sink. Then he hopped to the ground and walked over to Harry and Hermione who still had yet to move or make any motion to talk.

"Hello Fawkes." Hermione said with a smile and bent down to be at his level; she reached out her hand to him, remembering what Harry had said about the Aurors being beaten up by this bird. Fawkes looked at her with intelligent eyes, gave a small melodious coo and reached out to gently nibble on her fingers in an almost affectionate manner. Then he hopped over to Severus and then up to his lap where he perched rather comfortably on one of his thighs. Fawkes looked at the man pointedly and settled down as if he were going to take a nap, eyes hooded slightly as he waited for things to unfold. Hermione and Harry could have sworn that Snape had muttered something under his breath as he absently stroked Fawkes's feathers.

Severus watched as Fawkes went over to the intruders who had yet to do anything. Hermione had reached out to the bird trustingly and affectionately. "Hello Fawkes," she had said kindly with an amazing smile spreading across her face to light the room even though it had been pointed to the bird. Fawkes had given her outstretched hand a gentle nibble and then came over to him, settling down on his knee.

'_Find choice, fine choice.'_ Fawkes told him with a hint of amusement, but not mocking in his voice as he looked at Severus and glancing back at Hermione.

"Cheeky bird." He huffed under his breath. Despite his apparent hatred of the bird he had come to enjoy the company he had brought to the cell. He is like a mold or a fungus, Severus had deduced one day, he just won't leave anything alone and starts to grow on you after a while. He reached out and absent mindedly began to stroke Fawkes' back feathers. Hermione had stood back up and was watching his interactions with the bird. Harry still looked like the boogie man was going to jump out of a corner and still had a dueling stance. After another moment it became apparent that neither was going to make the first move. Severus grew rather impatient and self conscious about the whole affair.

"Well are you going to tell me why you are her Miss Granger?" He said, injecting his tone with a healthy dose of venom. "Or have you and the Boy Wonder come to gawk? If that is the case then you have seen your fill and you should leave."

"I have not come to gawk I can assure you of that Professor." Hermione said, still watching in fascination as Fawkes hummed slightly from his knee. "I have come to ask for your help."

"I can assure you that I can offer you no assistance." Snape snapped. "I am in prison, if you didn't notice on the way in; make sure you check on the way out. Besides it seems that even before my trial I am already a convicted man, one cannot do or experience the terrible things I have and come away clean. My counsel, if you chose to look for it, would be tainted."

"I can assure you that while I know you have done many terrible things, there are many more things that would have been a lot worse if you hadn't been on the side of the Light. I know that Professor McGonagall has been quite the champion for your cause and I have no reason to believe that she is wrong; despite the fact that she is angry at you, she is still fighting for you. Now, since you are the most knowledgeable Potions Master alive I chose to come to you and ask for your help." She told him genuinely, looking him in the face.

"Someone I love will die very soon if I don't get some help finding the right Potion, quickly. I have done what research I can in the time I have. I have been unable to find any information that may be of help and I am out of ideas. I am quite confident that you can give me the information that I will need."

"So you think that you can waltz in here and get me to help you just like that? You are not as smart a witch as thought Miss Granger." Wait; did he just give her a complement? "You must have been hit by a stupefy during a battle."

"I can assure you Sir, that I hold all of my facilities and I didn't_ expect_ to get anything out of this meeting, I came with the _hope_ that I would. I am not here to demand anything from you, but to ask."

"Hope is nothing more than an illusion. Hope does not give you anything but disappointments and shattered dreams, if you choose to dream at all. Once you learn that, your life will be much easier." Snape scoffed, Fawkes tried to nip at his fingers as if to tell him different. "Now unless you have something worth while to be here for, then I suggest you be on your way."

"Hope is all you have when you have no one left. Hope is what you survive on when there is nothing else. Hope is implicit and natural, even those who believe they lack the capacity to hope still can and still do, even if they don't believe it. Even if that hope is for something that is better than what is now and nothing else. So Sir, if hope is an illusion, then it is one that I choose to embrace and nurture.

You may call me a fool if you wish, but I even hold out hope for you. You seem to have enough friends in influential positions to keep your wand unbroken while you sit here in Azkaban. You are the only one that has ever happened to; I know I have done some research into Azkaban the year Sirius escaped. I have come here with the hope that you will help me find the Potion that I need to save a creature that is extremely important to me." Hermione told Snape who scoffed at her declaration.

"And what creature would that be that you are so inclined to come to a condemned and extremely dangerous man to get the information you so desire?" Severus asked coldly, looking away to Fawkes so that she wouldn't see the amazement in his eyes.

"A horse." Hermione told him with confidence that she felt waning just slightly, but she would not let him see it.

"A horse?" Severus was truly amazed by this, he snapped his head up. "You came all the way here, to see me about some bloody horse!? You really have gone mad." He sneered and looked back at Fawkes who looked him right in the eyes after about a minute of what seemed like almost a battle of wills Severus looked away from the bird. "Fine." He growled at seemingly no one in particular. "What is wrong with this animal that you want a Potion for?" It seemed that the statement was a reversal of his previous conclusion. "And what have you done so far?"

"Well. There is a young colt who's mother has died due to an unfortunate occurrence. It has fallen to me to save his life. I have given him a nutrition enhancing Potions that are given to human infants and a pep-up Potion in his bottles. I was unsure of the effects that the Potions would have on a horse and so I stopped giving them to him after a day. It seems that it has worked somewhat, but he still has not gotten up in almost a week, not since his mother died. I am afraid he will seize up and die despite my best efforts. I have come to you in hopes you can tell me of a Potion that will work at strengthening him, as well as encouraging him to get up. I have been unable to get to an adequate library to do research on my own and I fear that it would take me too long to find the right answer. So I have come to you, the most knowledgeable Potions Master alive to ask for your knowledge." She said, neglecting to tell him exactly why she was unable to get to an appropriate library.

"Your attempt at flattery will get you nowhere." Snape sneered. "I would take away House Points for your cheek, but as you so adequately pointed out before you came in here, I cannot. It was quite foolish of you to use Potions in a manner that you are unfamiliar with, ignoring the Warnings of misuse that you were taught in class. But you were lucky and the Potions you used were of the variety that is interspecies usable. As for a Potion that will incur the will to live, there is none. I suggest that you continue with your previous treatment and cling to your feeble illusion of hope." Snape scolded her. "Now you have your information, I do believe it is time for you to leave. I am sure you have wasted enough of your time coming here to find out what you already knew."

"Thank you Professor." She said. "I am grateful for your knowledge and I do not count it as a waste of time." Snape scoffed and looked back down at the bird on his knee that had given a plaintive call.

"Let's go." Harry told Hermione as Severus looked at Fawkes, he had not backed away from his dueling stance, nor had his eyes left Snape since he had entered the cell.

"Yes, all right." She sighed, still watching Snape intently as she saw him muttering to Fawkes who stared intently into his eyes.

"We want to leave now." Harry called out tapping the eye slot with his wand.

"Wait." Severus said after a moment. "There is one thing more that I, we, wish to give you. I trust that Potter can transform something into a vial for you as you don't have your wand." He sounded slightly reigned.

"What?" Harry asked almost suspiciously. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Don't worry Harry." Hermione told him. "I have a vial with me, remember." She took the vial she had thought to bring out of her pocket and held it out. "What am I to do with it?"

"Bring it here." Snape commanded.

"You will go no closer to him." Harry Warned. "He can't be trusted."

"He didn't kill you while you were at Hogwarts," she countered.

"But he killed Dumbledore, I watched him." Harry answered.

"There is usually more to things than meets the eye Potter; you have yet to learn that I see." Snape countered venomously. "But, seeing as I am a dangerous man then you can put the uncorked vial on the floor."

Hermione complied, placing the vial on the floor in front of her feet holding the cap in her hands. Then she took a step back. To her surprise Fawkes jumped off of Snape's knee and walked over to the vial. Positioning his beak over the vial opening he began to cry, letting each silvery tear drip down his beak and drop into the vial.

"You will add two drops after the last step in the pep-up Potion and stir counterclockwise three times to incorporate." Severus told her as she watched in fascination. "It will help the animal grow strong. I was told that you are to consider it a gift."

"You were told?" Harry scoffed. "Now you've gone mad too." Fawkes finished filling the vial and hopped back onto Snape's knee.

"I should have figured it out sooner." Hermione said, eyes growing wide with revelation. "I should have made the connection the instant Harry told me that Fawkes was here."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"So you are among the few chosen a Phoenix Keeper." She continued ignoring Harry. "I guess I didn't think it because he didn't come to you immediately after Dumbledore's death, but the fact that he is here and won't be dislodged is proof enough."

"Please explain." Harry insisted. "You are not making any sense."

"I read about the Phoenix Keepers while still at school, I found a book about them in the library and it caught my attention. They are an elite and very powerful handful of witches and wizards around the whole world that are responsible for the keeping of the Phoenix birds. It is not a job that is aspired to or sought after, but it is a job that is appointed by the Phoenix themselves. When a Phoenix Keeper dies their bird will leave and search the world over for another Keeper; a witch or wizard of great magic and power as well as a true heart. Those they choose also have good dose of personal fire within them. They will not choose a companion that has an evil or black heart, only power with a true and steadfast heart for what is right will bring the Phoenix to a person and persuade them to choose them their companion. Once they have made their choice it is permanent until the death of that Keeper.

The Phoenix Keepers are said to have almost a telepathic bond with their companions and can converse with them. They channel and harness the Phoenix's power as well as the other way around. It is a mutual relationship that increases the power of the wizard even further and allows them to do great good. The Phoenix helps to guide their companion to stay in the Light. There is almost no chance for anyone to be chosen a Keeper, the combination and levels desired by the Phoenix are so high that it almost impossible to achieve, but there are a few that are born with the correct combination. They are born at about the same intervals that the current Keepers die." Hermione told them in awe.

"But how can that be?" Harry asked. "He is a murderer to begin with and a follower of Voldemort. How can he be a Phoenix Keeper? You said that they had to be true of heart."

"Yes I did." She said almost mesmerized. "It seems that he is true of heart despite his past. The fact that Fawkes chose him, Dumbledore's killer is intriguing without a doubt, but I will not question Fawkes' judgment, he has been around in one form or another for forever, or thereabouts. I guess I will see you on the outside then Professor." Hermione said picking up the vial, corking and pocketing it.

"He will still get the Demontor's kiss." Harry said. "That is what he deserves for his transgressions."

"I don't think that he will." Hermione shook her head. "He may have done some terrible things in the past, but I doubt that the combination of things working for him will let him rot here in this cell or endure the Dementor's kiss."

"I'm right here." Severus said in a venomous tone, "and I am not deaf. I am not one to suffer people talking about me like this."

"Are you ready then Harry." The Warden said, the eye slot had slid back and the Warden's eyes were visible.

"Yes." He affirmed. The door creaked open behind Harry. "Come on Hermione, it is time to leave." He pulled gently on her robes.

"Take care of yourself Professor." Hermione told him and turned to leave. "And Fawkes, make sure he does." Fawkes gave a melodious coo as Harry backed out of the cell once Hermione had left.

The door swung shut behind Harry and Severus was acutely aWare that he was alone again, with no one but Fawkes as company, but he was suddenly much more comfortable with the idea then before.

Hermione followed Harry and the Warden out of the prison. She clutched the vial in her pocket. It contained the answer to help Prince. She would have to ponder the mystery that was Snape the Phoenix Keeper later, but she had the suspicion that she would come to understanding of Fawkes' decision in a way she didn't expect. What way that was she was still unsure, but she could just feel it coming.

**A/N: here ends this offering to you all. this is NOT the end of the fanfic, I will not abandon it. I know I have had a few reviewers express concern that I would. I enjoy this fanfic too much to just let it hang. Besides, I would like a sense of closure from this fanfic as well as any others that I may write. **

**To address at least one concern in more depth, yes I know he is still in Azkaban and there is information floating around that could get him out. but as much as I would love to spring him from the slammer right away, I can't. he must have his day in court, it was quite fun to write. Besides him getting out has to be a public affair to relieve him of official guilt. So for those who want to jump the gun and spring him immediately, sorry not yet. just be patient. **

**If you have the time and would like to read a fabulous fan fic with our two favorite characters then I suggest you go over to my 'sister's' postings, Romancing the Shadows by Skydancinghobbit. It is very entertaining and very good. if I could make her update even sooner and more than she does I would. as it is I am relegated to being nothing more than the little voice on the other end of the phone telling her to update SOON! But what are friends for anyway. **

**That said I would like to have at least 6 more reviews (only 3 per chapter) before I post again. hopefully by then I will be back on campus and have unrestricted internet connections. Enjoy what is rest of the summer and fanfic on!**


	11. An Apprenticship

**A/N: well, I certainly never expected there to be such a response to my fanfic, or at least not so quickly. Well anyway here is Hermione's ticket back to the Wizarding World.**

_An Apprenticeship (11)_

Dear Hermione Granger,

It is my pleasure to offer you an apprenticeship and subsequent job offer at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Transfigurations Teacher. There are other matters that I would like to also discuss with you regarding this position. Please come to the Leaky Cauldron on December 17 at noon to discuss my reasons and expectations of you for the job. You do not need to make an answer to the acceptance or to decline this offer until then.

Sincerely, Headmistress McGonagall

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hermione received the letter offering her a job three weeks after her visit to Azkaban. She was still sleeping in the stall with Prince, but he had become stronger and significantly more rambunctious. She had made up Potions that night after and had spiked his next round of bottles. After the first night of fortified bottles he had gotten up the next day and wobbled around the stall. She still had another week before the appointed day that she was to go to London.

She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do about the letter either. It was rather intriguing to be thought of as someone that Hogwarts would want to hire. She had not gone through any training after graduation, though the War had been a training program all its own. Besides she was only out of school for two years now and that would mean that if she was to become a teacher she would be teaching some that would have been in their first year when she was in her seventh, possibly causing problems.

Shrugging it off she decided to wait until the appointed time to figure out more. Although she decided that baring any major set backs that she would take the job. She was under no illusions that she was probably in a dead end job while working at the barn, but she did enjoy the interaction with the animals. They did not judge or plot or know of evil. She liked it that way. She also knew that she could not stay in the muggle world forever and longed to return to the Wizarding World again soon, she just needed a little bit more time to heal. She figured that taking a job at Hogwarts would be both enjoyable and challenging. She gave the barn manager the day she would have to have off and assigned a friend to feed Prince, though she sort of suspected it would take a miracle if he would eat. He had become very picky about eating a bottle presented by anyone but her, though he most definitely showed favoritism to the girls.

She arrived at the Leaky Cauldron at 8 am and decided to do some shopping as she was running low on supplies to make the Potions for Prince. She arrived back at the pub at 11: 59 and waited just outside the door to see McGonagall appear a moment later.

"Hello." Hermione said Warmly as the Headmistress came over to her.

"It is good to see you." McGonagall said with a large smile. "Come I have already arranged for us to have lunch in a private room, there are some important and rather personal matters that we have to discuss." She told Hermione. Hermione nodded and followed her former mentor into the pub and off to a private side room. They quickly ordered lunch and talked of recent events before the food came.

"So, what have you been up to now that the War is over?" McGonagall asked her.

"Well I have been working on a muggle horse breeding and training farm. I have found it to be both challenging and relaxing at the same time. I felt that I needed to get away from the Wizarding World after the War and get back to something that had a hint of normalcy for me. And I had to finish settling the affairs of my parents. I had a lot to sort through." Hermione told her.

"I can only imagine. You are not the only one; luckily I did not loose my own parents in the War. They died in that span of years before you-know-who came back and it was expected at the time. As hard as it was for me then, I can only image how it would be if I had to settle their affairs in the mists of the aftermath of a War." McGonagall sympathized. "I have heard though, a rumor that you went to see Severus in Azkaban. Is it true?"

"Yes it is true." She confirmed.

"Why?"

"I could ask you the same question in regards to the fact that his wand had been left intact and not broken like all the others."

"Touché." McGonagall answered. "But seeing as I was the one to ask the question first I would like your explanation, then you will get mine."

"Seems fair." Hermione agreed. She got the sense that McGonagall did not want to discuss some things until there was no possibility of interruptions. "I went because I needed some Potions advice. I have recently come into the possession of a now nearly three month old stud colt when his mother passed away. He was also on his way out and the barn manager could not save him. I petitioned for the right to own him if I could. I now own a horse. He would not get up and I wanted to find a Potion or combination of Potions that would help him. The only person who I knew that could tell me that was Professor Snape. After some rather angry conversation on his part he relented and gave me the information I needed. I also found out why Fawkes is with him." She told her.

"I have heard rumors of that as well. So Fawkes has taken some sort of fancy to him?" McGonagall asked.

"Not just a fancy Professor, but Professor Snape has become a Phoenix Keeper."

"A Phoenix Keeper?!" She said taken aback. "But how can that be? And Dumbledore's bird as well."

"If I understand the way of the Keepers, then it is more of Fawkes keeping Dumbledore, more that the other way around. Though yes I will admit I was and am still somewhat surprised. The man killed Dumbledore, which goes without question, there are reliable witnesses to prove that. As well as him being a confirmed Death Eater, but he was also a spy for Dumbledore. I don't really know what to think about him anymore, he is a very complex man in a very complex situation."

"That goes without question." McGonagall agreed. "And you can call me Minerva dear, I hope we can be colleges soon enough. Even if we aren't then we are both adults and you can use my first name."

"Thank you, it is a privilege to do so." Hermione said. At that time the food that they ordered was brought to the room and then the servers exited.

"So may I enquire now about what role you have in the fact that Professor Snape's wand is still in one piece when by all accounts it should be in pieces and in the trash."

"Yes, well, it all sort of ties into why I called you here in the first place." McGonagall told her. "I am currently fulfilling a promise I made to Dumbledore the beginning of the year before he was murdered. I promised him many things that night; one of them was that I would do what I could to keep Severus alive.

Dumbledore knew the night that I promised him these things that he was going to die and that Severus would be the one to do it. Why the man did not kill him on the spot or acted so calmly about this knowledge will likely always be a mystery to me. I also have made other promises that concern Severus but they are not important to this conversation. All you need to know of that is that Dumbledore is was bent on keeping him alive at almost all costs and that I was to keep him out of as much trouble as possible, no matter my personal feelings towards the man. I believe that I have done a good job so far. His wand remains intact and I hold the evidence that could very well set him free. And though I more than dislike the man for what he has done I also have to respect him for what I know he has been thorough.

But that does not apply to you right now. What does is the job proposal that I sent to you about a week ago. I am well aware that you did not go to a university or have any apprenticeship. One of Dumbledore's wishes was that you were to return to Hogwarts as the Transfiguration Teacher as well as to take up the helm of the Gryffindor Head of House."

"Me?!" Hermione squeaked. "He made these requests of me before I was even graduated!?"

"Yes, I can assure you that at the time I was also astonished, though I can see the sense in it now. He knew that after his death that there would be time before the school reopened and that you would have time to grow into the role. I am offering to give you a job beginning immediately and continuing on until the September of next year when the school reopens as my apprentice. That way you can learn what you don't already know and become a Transfigurations Mistress. Once you have finished your apprenticeship I will extend an invitation to be a teacher at the school." McGonagall told her.

"I- I don't know what to say. I would be honored to work at Hogwarts, but it is really too much for me to grasp that Dumbledore essentially handpicked me before I was even into my sixth year. I … wow." Hermione stuttered and tried to put into words how she felt.

"I know, I was surprised too, but will you come?" She asked.

"Will I be able to bring my colt?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, we have the stables that are not too far away from the castle. You can keep him there. My only request is that I get to come and see him. I have been a long time since a teacher has owned a horse and hence give me a reason to go down to the stables."

"I have no objections." Hermione giggled. "The only thing I say is that he may have some issues. He may only be a couple months old but he shows an extreme favoring to me and seems to just tolerate females, so you may be in luck."

"Sounds good enough for me." McGonagall said. "So will you take the job?"

"Yes, I believe I will." Hermione said after a moment's thought. "When do you want me to move into the castle?"

"You can move in as soon as you would like." She told her. "You will just have to give me a couple of days notice to get things ready. Other than that you are welcome anytime."

"Good, I will be there in about two weeks, I need to give that long to my employer and get things ready to go. How will I get Prince to Hogwarts though?" She asked.

"Prince?"

"My colt."

"Ah, you can actually apparate him, sort of a side along type of thing; it takes a powerful witch to do that though. Do you want me to come with you when you move him?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, that and I don't really know how I am going to smooth over the fact that my horse is there one minute and gone the next or how I am going to walk him to my destination that is clearly way too far to walk?"

"We can always obliviate and tweak memories." McGonagall told her. "It seems like the best way to do it."

"Ok. So are we set then?" Hermione asked. "Is there anything else you would like to discuss with me?"

"No, at least not here, we can talk of that at Hogwarts behind the closed doors of the Headmistress's Office. That seems to be the safest place to discuss things of a delicate nature. So I should expect to get an owl from you telling me when to come and collect your Prince."

"Yes, I will be going back to my apartment then, I have to whip up some more Potions for Prince and then find a way to get my muggle mail converted to owl post. There are a few things that I still want to get now that I have begun ordering them."

"That is good. I will see you in about two weeks then. I will explain more and other things when you arrive. And just so you know, even if this had not been an explicit wish of Albus', I would also have sought you out to hire you, although probably not as quickly. I know that you have probably gotten a bunch of other offers of employment and I am honored that you have chosen to come work for me."

"Thank you Pro- I mean Minerva, I am truly honored and still flattered. And in all truthfulness I have only had one or two offers of employment and they are all with the Ministry, and nothing that I want. Besides being back at Hogwarts will be a good way to ease back into the Wizarding World after being out for so long. It has always been a place I felt safe, though I am sure it would feel much safer if Dumbledore was still around." She said with a smile though it faltered when she mentioned Dumbledore. "I would be delighted to teach the next generation of 'dunderheads'." She snickered, imitating Snape.

"You had best keep such a comment to yourself." Minerva snickered despite her efforts to suppress it. "People with think your brief visit to Azkaban contaminated you."

"Ha." She tired to scoff but failed miserably.

"Alright then." McGonagall said with a smile. "If you will be that way then I guess we shall part ways then." They both got up and gave each other a Warm hug. "I will see you in a couple of weeks then. Have a safe trip back to wherever you are staying."

"Thank you very much. You have a safe trip back to Hogwarts then too. Have a good day."

They parted ways shortly after and Hermione was in an extremely good mood when she returned to her apartment mid-afternoon, apparating directly into her sitting room. She removed and enlarged the packages she had bought and spelled them away. Then she brought out her cauldron and began to make the Potions she would need for the next two weeks for Prince. Humming lightly as she lit a fire beneath the cauldron she began to brew.

**A/N: hope you all enjoyed chapter 11 and it is satisfactory to all to get her back into the Wizarding World. Next chapter she and Prince move, should be entertaining. I would like 4 reviews before I post again. **

**If you have time go check out Skydancinghobbit's fanfic- Romancing the Shadows. Or you can also check out my new fic- Meddling 101. that was a blast to write and I hope you all enjoy. Until next posting, happy fanficing. Dragons Quill.**


	12. Moving

**A/N: Wow ok you guys seem to like my fan fic, I can't hardly believe I got the reviews I asked for so fast. I was going to post the same time that I replied to the reviews but as I had a migraine I was driven to my med cabinet and then to bed. But the next day isn't so bad.**

_Moving (12)_

The two weeks after Hermione had told the barn manager that she would be leaving flew past. And before she knew it, it was the night before she was set to move back into Hogwarts. She had packed and reduced everything until it all fit into at backpack. She waited, sitting on the rather dumpy sofa in the apartment she had called home for the few months. She was fortunate enough that the apartment had a fireplace and McGonagall had arranged for it to be hooked to the Floo Network for the day. They would be apparating back to Hogwarts with Prince in tow. They had decided to tell the manager that McGonagall had parked up the lane a ways because she wanted to take a walk and she had worries about being able to back around to get out, women drivers and all. She felt just a twinge of guilt that she would be using such a line, but she figured that it would be the easiest to pull off.

At precisely one pm she heard a whoosh as green flames burst forth from the empty hearth and McGonagall herself stepped out of the fireplace. She looked very out of place in the muggle clothing that she wore. Hermione had coached her in what was and was not acceptable for this trip into the muggle world. And Hermione felt that she had taken her advice rather well considering their age difference and McGonagall's almost prudish insistence of wearing nothing but proper Wizarding or teaching robes. She now wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a comfortable fitting red polo shirt. She also wore conservative lace up ridding shoes on her feet. Her hair was in the ever present bun. She had a very muggle looking winter overcoat draped over one arm.

"You look good." Hermione acknowledged nodding. "Most defiantly different, but good."

"I can assure you that this will be the only time you will see me like this. I really don't like it. How can you stand to be so ill covered?" She said with a rather sour face. "But I am glad that you think it appropriate."

"Come on, there is noting left here for me here, it is all ahead at Hogwarts. I have all of my mail directed there and I have everything I came here with packed and ready to go. The only thing we have to get now is Prince."

"Alright, lead the way." McGonagall said, "Don't forget not to spell the door shut; you need to let your former land lord in."

"That would be most inconvenient." Hermione agreed with a giggle. "Come on." She led the older witch out of the tiny apartment and locked the door with her key to be returned when she got to the barn. Then they walked the quarter mile to the barn, Warming charms keeping them comfortable. They would take Prince back the way they were coming in order to convince the barn manager that there was a trailer parked by the apartment. After the ten minute walk to the barn they went into the barn's business office.

"So, you really are leaving us?" The barn manager said with a sigh, "I wish that you would reconsider. You really are one of the hardest working people here, and how will EdWard finish Penny without your help?"

"Well I guess he will just have to find a way to live without me." She smiled. EdWard was one of the trainers that had taken somewhat of a fancy to her, but she had kept him at arms length. While he was kind and caring, he was just not what she was looking for and a muggle to boot. While she knew that it sounded very snooty of her, she just could not bring herself to get into too deep of a relationship with some one who wasn't in the Wizarding Community, knowing full well that she would have to return to it some day in order to live the rest of her life. He had been finishing off a beautiful copper colored mare named Penny and had been teaching Hermione some of the finer points of training.

"I guess so. Well, who is your friend?" He asked looking at McGonagall who tried not to look sour.

"This is Minerva; she was a friend of my family's. She owns the stables that I will be boarding Prince." Hermione said, stretching the truth almost to the point where she thought it would break.

"I see, so what type of horses do you have at your stables?" The barn manager asked her.

"I board other's horses exclusively. Most are of the driving variety." She told the manager, also stretching the truth a bit.

"Well that is a good way to make money, horses tend to spend your money, not bring it in." The manager said with a chuckle. "You got to love it to be in it."

"I can agree." McGonagall nodded.

"Well, I guess I can't stall you anymore, you aren't my employee anymore so go and collect your Prince and be away with you." The barn manager smiled. "But I do expect you to treat him with the up most respect and decency. Though after seeing the dramatic turn around you were able to pull out of your hat, I doubt you would let him slip back to whence he came."

"Yes sir." Hermione told him. "He is my baby; I will always treat him well. And if you feel so inclined, and you get yourself another horse that has the option of dieing or needing an absorbent amount of TLC to survive, please drop me a line. I would be interested."

"I will keep that in mind. I just hope we don't have anymore sorry cases like Prince." The barn manager agreed. "I lost enough money by loosing him, he has quite the pedigree and his siblings have been brining in good purses. To loose another with the same outcome would not bode well for my accounts. So how are you going to be taking Prince with you? I didn't hear a car pull in."

"I parked out by the apartment, we figured we could use some exercise." McGonagall told him.

"Oh, speaking of apartments, here is the key. I have taken everything that I brought with me moved out."

"Good, good." The barn manger said. "Well I will miss your hard work and if you ever need another job, remember I can find a place for you here." He stuck out his hand.

Hermione shook his hand with a smile. "Thank you, I appreciate the offer. Well I guess its best we best be off."

"Good luck to you." The barn manager said. "And nice meeting you, take good care of them both." He shook McGonagall's hand.

"Of course." She replied shaking his hand and following Hermione out of the office. "It seems you have made quite a few friends." She commented as Hermione lead her to Prince's stall.

"They were all very kind to me when I got here. I am still dealing with the loss of my parents and they have all been very supportive. Ah, here is my baby, come over and say hello." Prince came over to the door and stuck his nose out of the stall, as he was only tall enough to put his chin on the bottom edge of the open area that would allow a full grown horse to stick their head out. "Silly little baby, lets go. You get to go to a new home today." Hermione said opening the door and slipping into the stall. She put her own halter on him as well as a lead rope she had transfigured from a piece of cord she found in a drawer while packing. Then Hermione led Prince out of the stall. Even though he was young and rambunctious, she had managed to break him to the halter enough that he would not jump around like a hooked fish. He looked over at McGonagall and gave her hand a nuzzle.

"He is sweet isn't he?" McGonagall chuckled as Prince investigated further, tickling with his whiskers.

"He's my little baby and I love him a lot. He's done quite a bit in helping me recover and rejoin the land of the living." Hermione sighed. "Well let's go."

She led McGonagall and Prince out of the barn. They walked a good way down the path that they had just came. They went about halfway down the path they turned off the path and headed towards a wooded area. Once they were in the wooded area Hermione turned to McGonagall.

"Ok, now what? I know you said we can do some sort of a side-along apparation, but I haven't done any major apparating in almost a year." She told her.

"I will apparate Prince for you. You just worry about getting yourself and your stuff to Hogwarts. I will meet you at the main gates." McGonagall said. "Just don't splice yourself dear, that would be highly uncomfortable."

"And don't splice my baby." Hermione said a bit sternly handing over Prince's lead rope.

"I won't." She said with a smile. Then she took a hold of Prince's halter with one hand and then wrapped her arm around his neck, hugging him close. With a loud pop Prince and McGonagall weren't there anymore. With a sigh Hermione closed her eyes and with a softer pop she was gone.

Opening her eyes again she was standing at the gates of Hogwarts with McGonagall off to her side with a rather distraught Prince trying to leave the premises, she guessed he wasn't much of an instant travel kind of critter.

"Easy Prince, easy Prince." She cooed coming beside his shoulder and grabbing his halter, "Easy, it's ok; you're ok, easy now." Prince perked his ears and slowly lost the panicked look in his eyes and nuzzled her arm. "Good boy." She cooed stroking his neck. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

"That was amazing." McGonagall nodded approvingly. "Dumbledore was wise to choose you as a teacher. If you can control a spastic critter like that you should do well in a classroom of First Years."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "I hope to be a good teacher. I wanted to study to be one before the final battle, but I just hadn't made it beyond the repairing of my broken life just yet. I am honored that Dumbledore believed that I would be a good candidate, even while I was back in my 6th year."

"Well, he saw you're potential and so did many of your teachers. You will do well I'm sure. Let's get Prince to his new home. I'm sure that you can get a house elf to help take care of him tonight."

"Well, that is really up to him." She sighed patting the now more curious than panicked Prince. "He has a definite preference to women already. I hope that he grows out of it." She sighed and shook her head. "Oh well, lead on."

"Follow me." McGonagall said with a smile. Opening the gates to let Hermione and Prince in. "I am quite sure that he will come to some sort of understanding with men eventually."

"Let us hope so, I will need help training him eventually and I doubt there is anyone here but guys in the summer months." Hermione said with a shake of her head leading the much calmer horse through the gates. "Well at least I won't have to worry about that until next summer."

"True enough." She agreed and led Hermione to the school's stables.

Once she was sure that he was settled into his new stall she conjured up a small flake of soft alfalfa hay and a large bucket of water charmed to stay full. Even though he was only three months old she had taken to offering him hay at all times of the day for the last few weeks. He was not ready to be switched, but it was good for him to begin sampling his way to an all forage diet rather than the liquid diet he was still on.

Then McGonagall lead her into the castle. The castle had an almost tired look on the inside, as if it was exhausted from not having large quantities of vastly alive students pouring through it. It wasn't that the place wasn't immaculately clean, as the house elves were still obviously there, but the castle seemed to age without the constant flow of young minds thorough it. The front hallway was dim and the giant hourglasses that held the House Point counters were empty.

"Hard to see isn't it?" McGonagall sighed as she watched Hermione look around at the sad empty state of the school. "But we will be opening up again next fall. I would like to open it again this fall, but I have too many things that have to be done before then. We would never be ready in time for this fall. I still need to hire most of the teachers back or new. That will take most of my time between now and then to get everything done. You will be taught everything I know as fast as you can learn it.

You will be needed to help rebuild the school as well. There are some things here that were destroyed and some things that need to be fixed, but for the most part the school was unscathed, though some of the grounds took a beating. We finally got the rest of the injured and homeless out of the castle about two weeks ago. They were found homes or were transferred to the correct facilities." She said guiding Hermione up the main staircase.

"I will show you where your rooms are. They were my home for quite sometime, and I hope you will find it to be your home for a long time as well."

"Thank you Minerva, I hope so as well." Once they got to what was to be Hermione's new chambers she looked around appreciatively.

"Well, here we are. I hope they are to your liking, you are free to make whatever improvements that you wish and you are free to set your own Wards and passwords as you see fit. Normally I would like to stay and help you unpack if you would like, but I really have to get out of this horrid muggle clothing. Why in the world you prefer to wear these things over robes is a mystery to me. These are so restrictive and kind of scratchy." McGonagall complained pulling at her shirt sleeves. "Once again, you will not see me in this type of garb again unless there is some hugely pressing emergency, and even then." She shook her head.

"I can understand how you must feel, and I am just fine with you running off to go get more comfortable." She laughed lightly.

"Well, I've been taking meals in my sitting room in the Headmistress's Office. If you would like to join me you may. I usually have taken my meals around six. Floo me if you want to come. Come to my office at ten am tomorrow and we can get the paper work done for your apprenticeship and discuss how and when we will start your training."

"I don't know, I think it will take me a while to unpack and get everything put away. I don't think I will join you tonight, besides I am tired and I will need to run back to the stables to give Prince his nightly feeding. I will need a house elf or two to help me with Prince so that I can see if he will accept their attentions." Hermione told her.

"Alright, then I guess I will see you in the morning then. I will be in the Headmistress' Office if you need me. There is a container of Floo Powder over the hearth, so you can use that if you need to. Well I guess I shall leave you now and I will get out of these uncomfortable clothes." McGonagall said to Hermione and left her with one final word. "Welcome back to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, good night Minerva; I will see you in the morning." She said as McGonagall turned and walked away down the corridor. Turning back to the rooms Hermione put down her backpack in a chair and decided that she should first Ward her doors so that she wouldn't forget and fall asleep before she got to it. She really was quite tired; it was a lot of work apparating over such a distance, especially after not apparating for such a long time.

Her rooms were large and spacious. There was a common room type of area with a large fireplace against one wall. There was a thick plied rug with the Hogwarts' crest dyed into it, surrounded by a deep, thick red pile and two large wingback chairs in front of the hearth, between the chairs was a small table with a beautiful candelabrum. The was also a comfortable looking sofa and accompanying love seat across from a coffee table between them. The whole wall that had the fireplace was a bookcase, all standing ready for her large book collection. She gave a heavy sigh of regret that she could not immediately begin to fill them, but she had put her and her father's large collection of books away in storage until she could find a steady job and home. She vowed that she would apparate back to her storage unit as soon as she could to retrieve the items stored there.

The opposite wall from the fireplace had two large windows that overlooked the grounds of the castle and part of the lake with the Forbidden Forest beyond that. Straight ahead of her there were two doors. One of the doors led to a medium sized office with a lovely mahogany desk and a few more bookshelves, and a smaller window. The second door led to her bed chambers. There was also a smaller fireplace in here as well across from the enormous four poster bed with deep richly colored curtains of burgundy and gorgeous nearly blood red silk sheets under an equally red downy comforter. There was an enormous mahogany Wardrobe off to one side of the room and another door against one of the walls. This door led to the bathroom.

The bathroom was simply enormous. It was pink marble trimmed in black and white marble tiles. There was a full length mirror against the back of the door and a delightfully large sunken tub off to one side that looked to be the size and depth of a small swimming pool. There was also a small shower cubical next to the sink for the times that one could not be so indulgent. In a second small cubical was the toilet, but Hermione didn't really care to investigate that until she needed it.

With a happy sigh she went back to her sitting room and dumped the entire content of her bag on the floor in front of the hearth. She then began the task of enlarging and putting each item in its new home after she had Warded the doors. By the time she had put all of her things away it was already nearing five so she lit a fire in the hearth and Flooed a request to the kitchens for some sandwiches. After a few moments the food along with a pitcher of cool sweet tea appeared on the table beside the chairs. She cheerfully settled down in one of the chairs and ate some of the sandwiches and drank the tea, leaving the cucumber sandwiches aside for an experiment later.

After about forty five minutes of eating she decided that she had better get out to see Prince, for he was surely more than ready for his evening meal. Grabbing vials of the Potions for his milk, the cucumber sandwiches, and the tiny pouch she had stowed in her pocket. Then she headed down to the stables. When she arrived she called to see if there were any house elves about and with a small pop a house elf appeared before her.

"Yes Miss, you called?" He asked with a low bow. "How may I be of service?"

"I own the little black stud colt that arrived earlier today. I would like to see if he will accept having a house elf feed him his bottles as I won't be able to be here for every feeding; I have to work up in the castle." She told him.

"We have already given him hay and made sure his water is full." The house elf said with a low bow. "But I must say that Miss' horse is not a nice horse at all."

"Oh, well, that answers that question." Hermione sighed. "Are there any female house elves that work here in the barns?"

"No Miss." He shook his head. "I don't think your horse likes house elves."

"Well it is the first time he has seen any, he was born on a muggle farm. Is there some way for you to get a female house elf here to help me with him? He has a definite preference to women over guys, may be it will extend to house elves as well."

"Ok Miss', I will be back in a few minutes, I will get a female house elf from the castle." He bowed away and disappeared again with a pop.

Going over to the stall where Prince was she took the packet out of her pocket and enlarged it to the correct size of the 50 lb bag of milk replacer that she had bought a couple days before she left. Then she conjured up a bucket and began to mix and measure out the water and powder, stirring it with a flick of her wand and putting a Warming spell on it to make it the right temperature. Then she went in to the stall with Prince who was once again trying to get more than just his nose over the edge of the head opening.

"I've got something for you to try." She said stroking his nose and then holding out a section of the cucumber sandwich. "They are really good; I had one and saved these for you." He reached out and sniffed the new item in her hand. Tentatively he reached out and nibbled on a corner, pulling the top of the sandwich apart and scattering most of it onto the ground. Despite the 'exploding sandwich', he seemed to enjoy the bread and began to nibble on the cucumbers at his feet. Once he was done he nuzzled her hand again and gently nibbled at her palm, asking for another. From behind her she heard another quite pop and she looked out in the hallway to see the house elf she had spoken to earlier and another.

"Hello." She said looking out of the stall with a smile. "Oh hello Winky, it is good to see you again."

"Hello bushy haired girl." Winky smiled up at her. "What is it that you would like to be done?"

"Well, I need some help with my horse; he has a thing against guys I think. I need to know if you will be able to help me feed him, because I won't be around the every time he needs to be fed. Will you come and see if he will accept you to feed him?"

"Yes Miss'." Winky nodded, looking a little worried. Hermione opened the stall door and Winky looked around the door. She slipped into the stall and stood behind Hermione's leg looking up at the colt towering over her. Prince looked rather curiously at the small creature behind his mistress. His ears flicked back and forth as if he was deciding if this was a threat to himself or his mistress.

"Hold your hand out flat." Hermione told Winky after a moment. Winky obeyed and she placed another section of the cucumber sandwich in her hand once she had shown it to Prince. Then she stepped to the side and let Prince give Winky a good sniff. After a moment Price decided that this little creature wasn't all that bad, especially when bearing food. After picking the sandwich apart, Winky felt confident enough to gently stroke Prince's nose.

"Well, it looks like you have the job." Hermione laughed lightly. "I will show you what you need to do to feed him." She told her and then they both stepped out of the stall. She showed Winky the amount of milk replacer and water to put into the pail and then she showed her the Potions and the amounts that she was putting in as well as the temperature that he was taking the pail at. Then she opened the door and Winky floated the pail into the stall. Prince stood back out of surprise to see the floating bucket, but once it was on the ground he quickly put his nose into the pail and drank it down quickly. Once he was done Winky levitated the pail out of the stall while Hermione watched.

"I will be feeding him in the mornings, but I will need to have help during the lunchtime feedings. I should be able to get to nighttime feedings for the most parts. If I can't I will inform you. I will keep enough Potions and milk replacement powder here to keep up with what he will need. He will also need to have a flake of hay in his stall at all times so that he can start switching from the liquid diet to something more substantial." She told Winky who was busy cleaning up the pail and setting it over to the side of the bag of powder. "Do you think you can accomplish that?" she asked.

"Yes Miss'. I believe Winky can take care of your baby." She nodded.

"Oh, his name is Prince." She told Winky. "And thank you Winky, I will need your help for another four or five months when I wean him off the milk replacer and just on to grain and hay. I think that he will have to deal with the fact that there are guys feeding him by then, but we will have to see." She sighed. "Well thank you Winky, I'm going back to the castle now and I will see you later. Thanks a lot."

After giving Prince the last section of cucumber sandwich she made her way back up to the castle. Making her way into her chambers she sat down comfortably in front of the hearth and conjured a cup of hot chocolate to read one of the books that she had brought with her. As a quick after thought she jotted down a quick scrawl for breakfast to be delivered at eight in the morning and Flooed it to the kitchens. It was a pleasant to remember that she would not have to be conjuring up her own food or shopping for food for herself anymore. He was glad she was back in the Wizarding World again and was back where she belonged, at Hogwarts.

**A/N: alrighty here is this offering, I would like five for this one, maybe give me a little more time to get to a computer with internet again before I update. I know I have gotten people who are worked that I might just abandon this fic yet, I can assure you I won't. I have a few chapters ahead written, not actually done yet, stuff came up that had to be done- yuck real life. But never fear, it will be finished. **


	13. Into the Pensive and Beyond

**A/N: WOW! That is all I have to say to how fast I got that many reviews. You guys are lucky I'm at my friends house or the wait for chapters would be longer. As a side note- almost done with all the sheep! Yeah. Ok back to things. Enjoy my next chapter.**

_Into the Pensive and Beyond (13)_

Hermione woke with a start. She was in a large four poster bed that was delightfully soft and there was a wash of sunshine from a window set in a stone wall. A stone wall? Her apartment didn't have a stone wall. That was when she remembered with a smile, she was back at Hogwarts, apprenticed to McGonagall to be the Transfigurations Teacher. She had had the strangest dream the night before and why she expected to wake up at her old apartment or anywhere else for that matter she was unsure, but somehow she felt like today was going to be some sort of crossroads.

It had been three weeks now since she had come back to live where she felt safest and most accepted. McGonagall had been teaching her the art of transfigurations dutifully nearly every day for a few hours. She loved the challenges Minerva presented to her and loved to achieve and over come them. Today McGonagall had promised something very special. She had said something vaguely about a transformation of perspectives.

Glancing at the time she quickly changed into a pair jeans and a T-shirt that she had worn to see Prince the night before and scurried out of the door to give him his morning feeding. He had grown into quite a handsome colt and she knew it would be high time to wean him soon. She wanted to wean him at least six months or perhaps eight, depending on how much time she had with her lessons and money to keep buying the milk replacer. She still had a couple months to decide as he was only four months old as it stood now. She was feeding him three large buckets of milk replacer daily, still spiked with the Potions. He was eating about three quarters of a flake of good hay and he had begun to eat a couple pounds of well fortified grain as well. He had begun to accept all manner of house elves over the time that he had been in the stables. Even though he was still very testy when it came to the male house elves, she didn't think that he was bent on killing them, anymore. Even so it had fallen mainly to Winky to take care of the 'crazy horse' as the elves in the stables referred to him.

When she had finished feeding him she showered and changed into some new but comfortable muggle clothing. McGonagall had shook her head at her choice of clothes, but had said nothing beyond the fact that she would have to wear robes when the students returned and she would not accept anything else. Once she had changed she left her room and Warded the door as she always did. She had been researching some of the different Wards in the library as well as concocting some of her own, using different portions of what she found and had been slowly increasing the strength and difficultly of the Wards for her door. She knew that they were probably unnecessary to be as strong and difficult, but it was her own personal quest to see how powerful she could make them. She also wanted to see how long it took for her to learn or invent Wards that would surpass the Potion Master's.

She had spent time in the dungeon classroom brewing the Potions she needed for Prince and did a few to keep the Hospital wing, though there was no medi-witch there, stocked with appropriate Potions. She found that even though there were no ridiculously high standards to be met by her former Potions Professor she enjoyed the task anyway. She had set out to explore one afternoon in the dungeons and passages she had not been down before and ones she knew she would never have been able to go down as a student.

She had found it quite by accident, the entrance to his former private rooms. His Wards were still up and strong as ever, she felt as if she had walked into a brick was as she rounded a corner to what appeared to be a short empty hallway, not much more than a hole in the wall at best. But reaching out with her wand she felt that the Wards were that of hiding and disillusion. Not thinking, she had cast a counter spell to the disillusionment charm and was reWarded with the sight of a great heavy oak door with wroth iron fastenings and a jade and silver snake in an S shape on the door before she was thrown back about five feet and onto the floor. It was rather obvious she had found the entrance to the Slytherin Head of House's door, but would not be allowed entry by any means, at least not without an invitation. She had asked about it the next day, but had got the answer to let things alone that were currently not of her concern and she had left it at that. She figured that she would find out soon enough.

Coming to the great stone gargoyle that blocked the way to the Headmistress's Office she looked at the gargoyle and said "Golden Snitch". The gargoyle leapt aside and she stepped onto the spiral stairs and rode up to the office door. Entering she sat across from McGonagall in one of the chairs beside the fireplace. They had begun to take meals together in the mornings to start the day with another friendly face.

"So, what is on tap for today?" Hermione asked as she cradled a cup of hot coffee, thankful for the caffeine boost to keep her day going, despite the fact she had already been up for nearly two hours.

"I am going to show you something very important. It is something I should have shown someone a long time ago, but I had to make sure you were the right choice. Do you remember the first time we met to discuss this job, I told you I could very well hold the key to Severus' release from prison?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded, not quite sure where this was going to lead or what it had to do with her apprenticeship.

"Well, I was instructed to let one other soul besides myself see it before the judges get to see it. Dumbledore was very careful and specific about making sure the Severus would not be imprisoned for his murder and evidently many other things that without question in my mind he did. He seems to think that all the things the man did for the Order should be enough to keep him out of the negative spotlight. He made careful sure that evidence to support his case was laid out in a manner that cannot be refused. I believe that you are ready, or perhaps it is I that is ready to show you, what I have known for almost a year and a half, since shortly after Dumbledore's death." McGonagall sighed, looking into her cup as if it would reassure her. "He saved pensives of every encounter that Severus brought him news of the Death Eater's next attack, as well as the night that… that…" she stammered, her voice drifting off, unable to finish her sentence.

"The night Snape told Dumbledore he was to kill him." Hermione finished for her with a sigh,

"Yes. That." McGonagall nodded. "There were others too, ones that told me information about the horcuxes that helped Harry out before he could defeat he who must not be named; but they wont be shown to the Wizengamot, they aren't important to the freedom of Severus. I still don't like the fact of what he did, but I did come to respect the man in the time that we worked together both as school colleges and in the Order. It took me a while to come to terms with what I saw in the pensives, but I have now and I will uphold Dumbledore's wishes.

I have left Severus' rooms intact and without anyone going in, with the exception of the house elves that I have told to keep things clean. I have also hired you back and you are now a Head of House, although you don't have a house of students to keep track of yet. Severus, if he is acquitted will be hired back if he will come, but as he really doesn't have anywhere else to go I am sure that he will. If not he can come and talk to Dumbledore." She said motioning to the portrait that was over the large mahogany desk that dominated that side of the room.

"As much as I am still mad at Severus for killing Dumbledore I feel that I am obligated to follow the instructions that he laid out for me. I know more about Severus now than I did back before the War ended and I do extend him sympathy, he has had a very hard life and very little happiness. It really is quite sad if you ask me." She told Hermione. "I can trust that you will help prod me into giving all of the pensives that will help Severus, even when I am sitting here still angry with him for what he did. Your heart and conscience will pull through the day despite your or my personal feelings."

"I am flattered that you think that I am that honorable, but I will do my best to do what you ask. I will look through the pensives how and when you want me to." Hermione told her. "I am interested to know how much he did. I do know he had some pivotal information for the War, but to what extent I am curious to know."

"Well I set up the pensives over in the corner of the office," She waved her hand towards the far corner of the office on the same wall as the door, where a table with a large stone basin and a large number of vials stood. "You may look through them at your leisure, but I would like you to be through them all before the end of the month. Some are longer than others as well as more graphic in the nature of what is shown and explained. That will be your lessons, so to speak for now. You need to see them before the trials begin, and especially Severus'." She said with a sad sigh.

"I understand. I think I will need to go to Azkaban again though, before all of the excitement of the trails begins. I am running out of Phoenix Tears for the Potions that I need for Prince. I will be weaning him sometime before the snow is all gone, but until then I am going to keep him on the Potions. So that means I will have to have at least one day off, so to speak of lessons before everything gets too busy."

"I understand. Write Harry and ask for another visit, and I will let you go when he can get you in. Other than that just begin to sort through the pensieves starting with the ones labeled the oldest, they tell a story, sort of. Put each memory away when you are done with them, back in the same bottle." McGonagall told her, still sounding rather tired and drawn. "I will Warn you, what you will see and find out is not very flattering and it is quite raw, there is no sugar coating to what he has done, seen or experienced."

"I understand." Hermione nodded. "I will watch them all and I will take it as what it is, no more and no less, at least for now. I have always wondered about him, he seems so distant from everyone and everything. I guess you could say that my curiosity could and has, gotten me into trouble along the way, but it still hasn't stopped me from looking anyway."

"I've noticed." McGonagall smiled weakly at her cup. "How else would you have learned of the Sorcerer's Stone in your first year and live to tell the tale of making it to the last level of protections before you yourself turned back to let Harry continue? That isn't even counting the other escapades that you and your friends went on during your time as students here and during the War. If your curiosity didn't get the best of you a few times then I wonder if we wouldn't still be fighting Voldemort. Some of the things you were able to find and put together were quite instrumental in their own rights."

"All the information was available to us, we just had to put it all together and apply it to the situations." Hermione shrugged. "The hardest part was realizing what information you need and having the drive to go and look for what was to be connected together."

"Well, you were able to connect some things that others could not." McGonagall told her, "You contributions were very important. Maybe you can find something else besides what I was able to see in the pensives. There are many layers to the situations and the man they are about that I can see are there, but I am unable to view what they are. Perhaps you will be able to look and see what I cannot."

"I am flattered you think so highly of me, and I will do the best that I can to live up to all the expectations that both others and myself have put on me. I believe that I am capable of doing so, but I will not pretend that it won't be a challenge."

After breakfast was done and whisked away back to the kitchens Hermione walked over to the stone basin and collection of vials beside it. She was both excited and had some trepidation about what she might see. She knew that the information that she was going to see was going to be something very powerful. Not only was it about a man that was very secretive by nature as well as in the relative nature of the situations she would most likely be viewing, but it was of a very sensitive nature. With a deep sigh she reached out and began to sort through the vials to see which memory was the oldest. Grasping the vial that was labeled as the oldest she uncorked the bottle and poured out the slivery glob into the basin. Reaching forward with her wand she touched the top of the glob and in a flash of light she was drawn into the memory.

_Opening her eyes she looked around her. She was still standing in the same corner of the Headmaster's Office, but she noticed that it was not the same time of day, it was nighttime and she saw that Fawkes was sitting contently on his stand. Behind the desk across the room sat a significantly younger Dumbledore. She resisted the urge to greet him as she knew that she wasn't able to interact with the memories, but only observe._

_Dumbledore was working on something on his desk with the hearth lit. The flames suddenly turned the almost neon green that heralded the arrival of someone by Floo. Looking up from his desk he waited patiently for whomever it was to come through. Without much surprise, as it was a memory concerning Snape, that was who come through. He was much younger and had fewer deep lines etched across his face, though there were worry lines there already. It was obvious that he had had a hard time coming to the decision to be in the room before Dumbledore._

"_Welcome Severus," Dumbledore said coming around the desk to extend a hand to him. "I was informed that you had something of great importance to tell me and that it could not wait. What is it that calls to my attention so strongly?" Snape looked down at the extended hand but did not take it and would not look the Headmaster in the eyes._

"_You don't want to shake my hand; it has been in far too many dirty dealings for you to want consider soiling your reputation. I come to you tonight because the news I bring you concerns someone who is important to me, even if I seem unimportant to her." Snape told him. "I fully expect that you will want to never see me again when I finish telling you what I need to tell you."_

"_Come now Severus, I am sure that it isn't all that bad, and even if it is, I am sure that I can come to terms with such a revelation. I will not turn you away when you have come to me for help; I am not that kind of wizard. Please, sit," He motioned to one of the chairs in front of the hearth, "Would you like a Lemon Drop." _(Some things never change, Hermione thought with a brief smile.)_ With a deep sigh Snape shook his head and sat down in one of the chairs and Dumbledore sat across from him. Snape jumped back up again and began pacing in front of the hearth. Dumbledore did not pressure him to begin or continue, but just sat patiently. It was obvious that whatever he was going to reveal was of a sensitive matter in some way and probably took a great deal of courage and strength to reveal._

"_I don't know how to begin." Snape mumbled. _

"_Well, I suppose you should start from the beginning." Dumbledore said gently_

"_That is the problem, I don't really know where that is."_

"_On what subject are we speaking so that I may be able to help locate the beginning?" Dumbledore offered. The confidence and total control over the situation that Hermione had always attributed to the man before her was not there, it was obvious to her that Snape was distraught and unsure of himself and what he was to say. It was a totally new experience to see this side of her ex-professor, or perhaps pre-professor as the case might be. _

"_I have done some things, terrible things." Snape began, seemingly unsure of where or how to begin. "I have done things that no human should ever do…"_

**A/N: well here ends this chapter. I know I did not delve too far into the pensives, but I did not think that 10, 12 or fifteen more chapters should be devoted to that, besides I don't think I would be able to post such material on this site anyway. In a later chapter I will be alluding to what he did in his past with more detail, but not until near the end of the fic. Hope you enjoyed. Please review. **


	14. Party Preperations

**A/N: well I thought about posting this separately, but I didn't think it would be good as just a single post. So I decided to post it with chapter 13- you guys are lucky and get a bonus. **

_Party preparations (14)_

It was three weeks since Hermione had begun to delve into the memories of Snape, left behind by Dumbledore and she had finally finished them. Those three weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster of amazement, hate, pity, sympathy, compassion, sadness and a personal reconciliation to what was done was done. She also realized that what had been done, had been for the greater good, even though she did not like the fact it had been done. She had come to understand more about the man that she had called teacher for six years. Her heart went out to him and she began to see what more was beyond the biting and evil dungeon bat persona that he had continuously portrayed during her time as a student. He was a complex man, with many facets to his personality. She could see that there were more than the handful of emotions and faces of Snape than she had seen both personally and through the pensieves.

Now that she knew more, she knew she would never know the whole story, she found that her respect for the man was still intact and in fact, had grown even more. He had risked his life repeatedly for the greater good of the Wizarding World and so far he had little to no thanks for it. He had done as Dumbledore had told him, bound him to be actually with an Unbreakable Vow, in the first few years of their friendship; by fulfilling the vow made to Draco's mom. It seemed that from early on it had been Snape's density to kill Dumbledore, seemingly his only friend. He had walked a very thin line since the night that he had come to Dumbledore with his confessions and a plea to be dealt with in a fair manner. It seemed that in that first meaning he was both surprised and almost disappointed that Dumbledore had not turned him over to be thrown in prison, or at the very least killed for his indiscretions.

During this time she also had begun to experiment and develop her own personal line of hair care products for herself. She had mastered some of the more complicated techniques on her own with her wand to keep the unruly, but thankfully not as bushy, mess in check. She wanted to have a shampoo and conditioner that did most of the work for her. The muggle stuff she was using now was not only extremely expensive and a drain on her already stretched budget ,with Prince to keep buying feed for, but it only took the edge off of the frizz; and it was the strongest stuff on the market. She kept her research Potions, as well as the Potions she was making for Prince to one corner of the classroom.

She wanted very much to have her own space that her own research and other Potions could be separated from the rest of the ordinary and mundane Potions, as well as to keep her own work, just that, her own. Not that there was anybody who was going to just walk into the room, as she kept it as heavily Warded and locked when she was not there. McGonagall had asked her about this, but she had replied along the lines of never being too safe and it satisfied her enough; though she had dropped in a few times to make sure that everything was in order when Hermione had been there and the Wards down.

Hermione had even briefly thought about what the private lab of the Potions' Master might be like, or where it exactly was. She had her suspicions that it was beyond his private chambers. She had seriously toyed with the idea a few times, but each time she stopped herself. She knew what a private man Snape had been and how she would feel if someone broke into her rooms. She also knew what she had seen the last time that she had gone to Azkaban and the realizations that she had made on that visit. She had a suspicion that his rooms were not going to be left unoccupied for much longer, once his trial was complete.

**A/N: yeah, not to much goes on, but I needed to deal with the time after Hermione looks through the pensieves and they are getting ready for the 1 year anniversary of Voldemorts defeat, which is very near at hand ( will get to that in a few chapters, got to tie up a few loose ends first). The shampoo also is something important later on, just wait you'll understand on my next post. **

**We get to visit Snape again in my next pair of chapters. And for all of you who beg for his moral to rise, don't worry, a few months to stew over what was said last time have helped. **

**I would like to have 6 reviews before I post again. That should give me a few days before I run to the library again and fight with their computers. Stupid things won't take my flash drive. Grr!**


	15. Azkaban Revisited

**A/N: thanks for the reviews so far guys. I find it really amazing the feed back that I am getting from you all. well, here is the first of another double posting. The last time Hermione will have to go to Azkaban, in this fic at least. enjoy.**

_Azkaban Revisited (15)_

It was one week before Valentines Day when Hermione was able to visit Azkaban again. This time though she had a different agenda then only coming to get information. She wanted to get something from him, yes, but she was also going to try to bring him something. From her research into Azkaban in her third year she had learned quite a bit about how the prisoners were treated. Granted what she knew was applicable back when the Dementors had been running the place, but she suspected that the general prisoner treatment hadn't changed too much. She was going to at least give him the chance to have some decency in front of the Wizengamot.

She had always respected him before she knew that he was a spy and even more so afterwards. Her respect had faltered and diminished, but did not exactly go away when she had learned of Dumbledore's death at his hand. She had always felt that there was more to what had transpired on the tower than even Harry had known at the time. She wanted to reserve some of her own judgment for when she knew more the information that she knew was not being told, though she suspected that she would never get the chance to know it all. Now that McGonagall had chosen her as the confidant to view the pensieves before the Wizengamot, she had had a chance to see what else there was to the story.

The emotions that she had gone through were wide and varied but what had persisted was the growing and blossoming respect for the man that the world seemed to hate. She knew that there was more, a lot more to his story as a person, but the role that he played in Dumbledore's death and the War was all that was displayed in the penseives. She wanted to at least give him the chance to look a little less slimy when put up for trial.

Harry met her at the Ministry lobby, as he had done before. She was not an Arour and so she was not allowed to apparate to Azkaban herself, and Harry had insisted that she have him as a bodyguard again. He most obviously did not trust Snape at all, and who could really blame him, he had watched Snape kill Dumbledore before his very eyes. He had almost reluctantly answered yes to her letter and had set up another time with the head Warden for her to visit with Snape.

"Now why again are you wanting to go and visit Snape again?" Harry asked with just a hint of disgust in his voice.

"I must get some more Phoenix Tears form Fawkes and I feel that he needs to know some information and if I can, I need to give him something as well. He will be let free Harry, mark my word. He is innocent of murder."

"What do you mean?!" Harry looked like he was trying to swallow a squirming frog while turning a color that varied between a shade of green and red. "I watched him send and Unforgivable at Dumbledore and watched him hit the ground."

"I never disagreed that he killed Dumbledore, but it was not murder. I have looked into information that Dumbledore set aside to be viewed after his death and that will be presented in court. I cannot tell you all the details, but I can tell you that not only did Dumbledore know he was to die, but he also had some hand in choosing who it was going to be. You must trust me on this Harry, he is innocent of murder. He did kill Dumbledore, of that there is no dispute, but under direct orders from more than one source." Hermione told him. "I am sure that after the trials that you can ask to view the pensives, but I can't tell you anymore. I shouldn't have told you as much as I have already. You will just have to trust me on this, Snape will go free, of that I am sure."

"I think you out of your bloody mind." Harry told her, still getting his shock and almost hurt anger under control. "But the problem is that I do trust you, as much as I don't want to on this, I guess I will have to. You have been right too many times before." He told her taking her proclamation of Snape's, one of his greatest enemies', innocence rather well she thought. She had a sneaky suspicion there might be a Howler involved later once he sat down and thought about it, or perhaps not, it really could go either way.

Once again they appropriated to the rocky, windswept cliff and walked into the trees where the head Warden was waiting patiently with two horses. He too seemed rather mind boggled with the concept that Hermione wanted to come and see Snape, again. The trip through the safety precautions were no less stringent the second time around. She had to go through some extra questioning under Veritaserum before they would even consider letting her bring the five vials she had with her into see Snape. She was still without a wand, but they did allow her the luxury of being able to leave some things in the prison; though the vials had gone through various deduction spells in order for the Aruors to be satisfied that they were indeed harmless as she had said.

Again Hermione stood with a touch of trepidation before the great door of Snape's cell and wondered what she would find this time. Last time he had been an angry and bitter man that was lashing out at everyone. As she left she had pleaded with him to stay alive and to stop trying to starve himself to death. All she knew was that he still lived, since she had been granted entry to see him.

"Severus Snape." The Warden spoke through the eye slit as before. "You have a visitor, are you decent?"

"Go away Warden, I am not one to be trifled with, despite the fact I am within a cage. I am not someone to be taunted at even the best of times. I refuse to let you have a joke at my expense. BE GONE!" Came an extremely hateful and venom filled voice that had a stronger tone to it than last time she had heard it. It seemed that Snape had finally decided he was not going to die as the resigned self ending note had left his voice.

"I can assure you that I am not here to make a joke Professor." Hermione called out through the eye slit, still unable to see through it. "And of all people I can guarantee that I shall not taunt you. I learned well in Potions that you are not one to trifle with."

A pair of obsidian eyes gazed out from the slot with a mixture of shock and surprise as they came to rest upon Hermione standing in the bright lit hallway in the same garb as before, head held high looking back at him. "You!" He managed to grind out through gritted teeth.

"Well, are you going to invite me in or do I have to stand out here all day? I will do that you know." She told him in the most innocent of voices. She wanted to be a guest in his cell and not an intruder as she had been last time. She knew especially now, after looking through the pensieve that if she wanted to get him to be civil she would have to come to him on his terms. She would do the best that she could despite the circumstances.

"Invite you in! _INVITE YOU IN!?_" Snape choked on a bellow. "I am locked in a cell; I can no more invite you in as I can hex you for your insolence."

"Down boys!" She said in the voice she usually reserved for when she drove a particularly spunky pair of horses, giving both the Warden and Harry a scowl as they both raised their wands. "As I said last time, he is a human and deserves to be treated as one, and not like some wild animal. And that Professor is why I ask if you would allow me into your cell. I have always known you to be a private and reserved person and I feel that such a courtesy should be extended to you as well." The look of shock from everyone was thick and very apparent upon their faces.

"Well it doesn't seem that I can stop you from coming in." Snape grumbled, but a good deal of the venom was absent. "So I might as well accept your intrusion rather than resist it at this time." His eyes still registered shock and awe to the fact that she stood before him and was requesting to once again be in the same room as him, a murderer and ex-Death Eater.

"I am coming with you Hermione," Harry said still looking rather put out.

"I figured as much as we discussed that earlier. I really could care less if you follow me into the cell or not, it is not like I really need a chaperone. Though I will respect your wishes as we are in Azkaban and you have the authority here not I." Hermione told him. "Warden, if you would please." She said motioning to the door.

He nodded grimly and then shot Severus' eyes a nasty look. "Back away from the door Severus or I will put you into a body bind." The obsidian eyes shot him a look of complete loathing but backed away. The Warden replaced the slit in front of the gap and gave Hermione a shake of his head. "I really don't understand why you are here again, especially wanting to be in the same room as him, but I am obligated to do this because of Mr. Potter here."

"I don't exactly agree with it either, but I have known Hermione form our first year at Hogwarts. I know that if she wants something bad enough there is noting that you can do to stop her from finding the information she wants. I figure that I might as well just agree with her as long as it isn't too bad and doesn't break any laws." Harry scowled.

"I see." Was all the Warden said as he unlocked the door and allowed Harry and Hermione into the cell.

Once again Hermione's nostrils were assaulted by the smell of sweat and of anger. The scent of despair was still strong in the air, but the bitterness of self loathing was not as strong as it once was, but was still a pungent stench that clung to the room. The room was slightly less dark than before as the sun was coming more through the window than before. Fawkes still sat on the sink and Snape had returned to his cot and sat as patiently as before. Hermione was not quite sure why he was being so patient, but then again, there was little else he could be; she figured that he had gained this side of him while as a spy before he went on the run. Fawkes hopped off the sink and came up to her as before.

"Hey Fawkes, it seems you have been doing well." She smiled at him and reached out, letting him come to her hand, nibble on her fingers affectionately and bunt his hand against her hand. She experimentally scratched his head and he closed his eyes appreciatively. "And it seems that you have kept the Professor from killing himself with starvation."

She turned her gaze from Fawkes and onto Snape. He was still deathly thin, but he did not have the haunted look that begged for death to come as last time. The clothes hung from his body, but they seemed less like they were going to fall of due to lack of a body to hold onto them. Fawkes gave her fingers a final nibble and hopped over towards Snape who allowed him to settle on his knee as she had seen last time.

Snape regarded the new intruders into his solitary confinement as Fawkes settled onto his knee. He gently stroked the Phoenix felling comforted by the presence of another life close by. He did not want to be sentimental, but Hermione had been right the first time she had come, not that he would ever admit that out loud. It was hard on him to be locked away without any form of contact with anyone. He liked his solitude, that was true, but it had never been this prolonged or complete. The presence of the occasional house elf to clean the tiny room and the occasional flickering sight of a hand that pushed food through the door slot was not enough. He suspected that he would have gone completely crazy if it hadn't been for Fawkes' constant presence, as annoying as it sometimes was.

"I do believe that we established that I am not to be gawked at _Miss Granger._" He almost growled at her, venom creeping back into his voice as he began to feel uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Like last time I am not here to gawk." She said kindly. "I am glad to see that you are willing to live again Sir. Having someone that depends on you tends to give you a reason to live; I believe Fawkes has had a good influence on you." Snape scoffed at this, but continued to stroke Fawkes who began to hum quietly at the attention. "Well I guess I should tell you why I am here." She told him after a moment more of regarding him. "I have come to give you something that I feel will help you. Well, if nothing else it may at least make you feel a little better when you go up for your trial, which I hope you know begins at the end of the month."

"And what could you possibly have that would do that?" He scoffed.

"You will see when the time comes, for now just be assured that you will not be left undefended. Dumbledore is the only wizard that I know of that can reach out from the grave and meddle with the future. Just know that there are those who will stand up for you in court." Hermione told him with a hard look, trying to convince him of her seriousness.

"I just thought that you might like to at least look reasonable when you go before the Wizengamot. So I have brought you these." She pulled four of the five vials from a pocket concealed in her robes. All contained a pearly liquid; three had a slightly blue hue that swirled in the opaque fluid while the fourth had a slightly yellow tint. She placed them on the table in a line. "These are from my own personal stores." She told him. "They are probably not for your hair type, but it will have to do. I have had no time or direct reason to develop a Potion for anything other than my hair. The three vials with the blue hue are shampoo and the yellow is conditioner. I figured that you would need more shampoo than conditioner. An entire vial will likely be needed for each wash." She told him.

"What?" Snape gaped, an emotion other than anger or distain crossing his face.

"I brought you shampoo and conditioner that I have developed; one for your trial date, one for your sentencing and one for whenever. You will probably be able to use only half a vial of the conditioner to make it go twice, that's why I only brought you one. I figured that you would want to make something resembling a good impression when you are put on trial." Hermione shrugged. "I thought it might help."

"You have been brewing your own hair Potions?" Was all Snape could ask, though she could see there was more to it, but that was all he could get out or seemingly let himself say. "I want to know more about it before it even gets near my head or my person for that matter. Give me a vial." He switched momentarily back to his teaching voice and stance, though he was sitting down. This gave Hermione a twinge of hope about what future he might have once he was acquitted.

"Hermione, don't go near him." Harry Warned from behind her, speaking for the first time since they entered the cell. "He is too dangerous; you are already putting yourself in danger being in here with him."

"Oh come off it Harry. I am more than certain that if he planned to do something that he would already have done something. Besides have you no faith in Fawkes, he wouldn't be here if he was an evil person, extend a little trust once in a while. He was a trusted member of the Order before and there are others in power who have given him the courtesy of trusting him even now. I think you need to let bygones be bygones both of you and start out on a cleaner state than is obviously here. And if you can't at least extend trust to him, uphold the trust you have in me. I will not purposely put myself someplace I feel unsafe." Hermione reprimanded him, turning to give him a deep scowl and sharp look. Snape knew in that moment that he would not want to ever suffer her wrath or have it directed at him.

"I was just saying…" Harry scowled back giving a little ground to the blaze in the Gryffindor's eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt over him." He motioned to Snape with a jut of his chin.

"I can take well enough care of myself in this case." She told him and then turned back around to face Snape. She reached over and grabbed one of the vials that had the blue hue. Then she took two steps closer to Snape so that she stood an arm's distance away from him. "Hold out your hand." She told him and Snape complied. She placed the vial in his palm and stepped back away from him, but only one step.

Snape carefully examined the vial's content through the vial then uncorked it and gave a sniff. The smell of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon floated into the air of the room. He carefully wafted the Potion under his large nose and sniffed in its scent. "What did you use as a base?"

"I used a simple basic recipe I found in some research, and then I began to modify the Potion until I got the desired results. I am very pleased by the results thus far. I have yet to get it to the exact results that I want, but it is close. I only have to add a few charms to my hair to get it to stay manageable now, where as before it was more charmed that this room." Snape raised and eyebrow at this. "I used it this morning and have been using variations to the Potion you've got in your hand for a couple months. My hair has yet to change color, length or fall out. You don't need to look so worried about the thought of putting the liquid on your head or in your hair." Hermione told him with a small smile playing on her lips. Snape returned the stopper to the top and scoffed at her comment.

"I suspect that you are here for more than just this." He said flatly keeping all emotion from his voice and looked coolly at her.

"You're only partially right. I came here as I did last time, expecting nothing but hoping. I believed that you deserved to at least have a chance to feel better about yourself by getting clean for the trial. But I also needed another reason for coming that cannot be denied. I am running out of a vital Potions ingredient that I can find only here for the Potions for the horse in my care. I came hoping to be gifted with another vial of Phoenix tears." She told him matter of factly. "I am not here demanding them from you or Fawkes, but I am here asking for them. You both have every right to refuse and I will leave without complaint if you choose to withhold such an ingredient from me. I have neither the power, nor wish to possess the power to force it from either of you."

"Well, since you put it that way I am inclined to refuse you on principle if nothing else." Snape growled with a hint of anger in his voice after a moment of looking down at Fawkes. "But as Fawkes deems it necessary to cut off all circulation to my legs until I agree then I have little choice in the matter. I assume that you brought a vial with you then to collect them in."

"Of course sir." She nodded and drew the empty vial from her pocket. She stepped back to him and held out the vial. She switched the vial in his hand to the empty vial. Then she placed the vial of shampoo next to the others on the table.

Snape held the uncorked bottle down to Fawkes who cried carefully into the bottle until it was full and Snape recorked it. Snape held out the vial to Hermione to see if she would take it from his hand. She did and gave him a genuine smile as she did.

"Thank you." She said to him as she placed the vial whence it had come. "I appreciate you doing this for me, both of you." She indicated both Snape and Fawkes with her words. "I will not forget your kindness. I am in your debt."

"Come on Hermione," Harry told her. "You got what you came for, now let's leave."

"Well, I guess I shall see you back on the outside again." She nodded to Snape with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do once you're out. Just don't do anything that will land you back in here, Dumbledore and others have worked far too hard to get you out to see you just come right back. Take care of yourself." She told and went back to the door and Harry, who then ushered her out of the cell as quickly as he could, with a glare over his shoulder as the door was closed and left Snape and Fawkes alone in the cell again.

**A/N: well, looks like our greasy professor now has some shampoo, told you her hair care products would come up later.**


	16. A Kind Gesture

**A:/N well here is the second installment, this is Snape's view of Hermione's visit. Once again, Fawkes makes his wishes known as well. **

_A Kind Gesture (16)_

Snape had been languishing away in his cot still waiting for the end, but somewhat surprisingly to himself, he did not exactly look forWard to such a thing anymore as he would have, not even four months before. He had been left totally alone, as before the Know-it-all had barged once again in to his life for a brief moment and then left. He had fully expected that he would have died and rotted in jail before anyone took notice that he was there, despite the fact he knew his wand was still intact.

Now after he had been left alone for so long after the brief intrusion into his anger and self-pity, he had to begrudgingly admit, only to himself mind you, that her presence was probably what had kept him from dieing. She had been something or someone else to focus his anger away from himself. She had taken his angry words and venom with little more than a bat of an eye and offered him hope instead of returning his hurtful attitude. She might not know that she had given him the information and thus a sliver of self worth for which to live for, at least to see where the future went, but she had.

Now it had been nearly four months since her visit and he knew that something was going to happen soon. He knew that there were going to be trials, he just didn't know when or if they had started or not. He just wanted his to come and get over with so that he could get back to trying to kill himself or get on with his life, somehow. Fawkes had been doing his best to keep his mind occupied, but he had come up short and the solitary confinement with no distractions was maddening. He had really not planned on living through the War. He fully expected that he would have been killed by the Dark Lord or after he had carried out his deed, to be killed by the Order. But it seemed that the fates had a different plan for him and he looked into the future with both trepidation and curiosity. He wondered if his life would get worse or better, for his life to date he had little to no happiness or good things come to him.

He was roused from his contemplations by the sound of the slip of the eye slot being drawn away; it was not the appointed time for a meal. He had actually been eating again, saving Fawkes some of the meager meals, which the bird ate gratefully. 'I would feed you properly if I had it and knew what you like to eat.' He had told him once. _'You are treating me well in the situation.'_ Fawkes had replied. _'You will have a chance to find something suitable soon enough.' _The curiosity of the eye slit being opened for no apparent reason at a strange time roused him enough to sit up and peer in the direction of the door.

"Severus Snape." The Warden spoke through the eye slit as before. "You have a visitor, are you decent?"

"Go away Warden, I am not one to be trifled with despite the fact I am within a cage. I am not someone to be taunted at even the best of times. I refuse to let you have a joke at my expense. BE GONE!" He called back out to the Warden angrily, he had no reason to expect that there was anyone who would want to come to visit him, despite the one visitor he had had already. He did not want to get his hopes up only for it to be a cruel joke by the Warden. He did not put such an underhanded scheme below the man.

"I can assure you that I am not here to make a joke Professor." He heard her voice again; he could hardly believe that she saw it fit to return after his behavior last time. "And of all people I can guarantee that I shall not taunt you. I learned well in Potions that you are not one to trifle with."

Jumping out of bed and over to the eye slit to peer out, he saw Harry and Hermione standing as they had before. "You!" He managed to grind out through gritted teeth, both surprise and shock clenching his jaw closed.

"Well, are you going to invite me in or do I have to stand out here all day? I will do that you know." She asked almost innocently, almost but not quite, there was something more here, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Invite you in! _INVITE YOU IN!?_" Snape choked on a bellow. "I am locked in a cell; I can no more invite you in as I can hex you for your insolence."

"Down boys!" She almost barked in a deeper voice than he had not heard from her before, she raised her hands and motioned the two men flanking her to put down their wands. "As I said last time, he is a human and deserves to be treated as one, and not like some wild animal. And that Professor is why I ask if you would allow me into your cell. I have always known you to be a private and reserved person and I feel that such a courtesy should be extended to you as well." The look of shock from everyone was thick and very apparent upon their faces.

"Well it doesn't seem that I can stop you from coming in." Snape grumbled, but he dropped a good deal of the venom he had used before. Mostly from the shock that such a beautiful creature as she would willingly once again come to see him and actually defend an honor of sorts, that he felt had already been ripped away from him; and in front of one of the most influential wizards still free, who was also her friend. "So I might as well accept your intrusion rather than resist it at this time."

"I am coming with you Hermione," Harry said still looking rather put out.

"I figured as much as we discussed that earlier. I really could care less if you follow me into the cell or not, it is not like I really need a chaperone. Though I will respect your wishes as we are in Azkaban and you have the authority here not I." Hermione told him. "Warden, if you would please." She said motioning to the door.

The Warden nodded grimly and then shot Severus' eyes a nasty look. "Back away from the door Severus or I will put you into a body bind." Snape looked from Hermione to the Warden and he gave the man one of the most hateful looks he could manage, he really wished he still had his wand; he wanted to really hurt the man that made his current life a living hell. He walked back to his cot and sat down, assuming it would be the least threatening thing he could do, he figured Potter would once again be ready to hex him at a moments notice.

He was still unsure of why Hermione had any reason to return to him. Last time it had been for his knowledge, perhaps she wanted to use him again, though she had been nice enough so far. Yet as that crossed his mind he was reminded by the nagging little voice in the back of his head that she had brought him something as well, both hope and knowledge. It had been an even trade between the two, as if they had almost been equals.

Harry entered first and then Hermione followed and stood in front of the battle ready boy. She looked around the room, taking in the meager furnishings and its occupants. She did not linger very long looking at Snape, but her eyes settled on Fawkes who had cooed quietly as the door had opened.

"Hey Fawkes, it seems you have been doing well." She smiled at him and reached out, letting him come to her hand and nibble on her fingers affectionately and bunt his hand against her hand. She experimentally scratched his head and he closed his eyes appreciatively. "And it seems that you have kept the Professor from killing himself with starvation." He was surprised by the apparent affection that they had between them, it seemed strange to Severus for the Phoenix to seemingly accept her as well as him. From what she had told him last time the Phoenix birds would only bond with one companion and interact with others only when they had to and as a matter of urging by their companion. As a whole Fawkes was much less aloof than he had ever been, at least with her.

She turned her gaze from Fawkes and onto Snape. Fawkes gave her fingers a final nibble and hopped over towards him and he allowed him to settle on his knee. Snape regarded the new intruders into his solitary confinement as Fawkes settled onto his knee. He gently stroked the Phoenix felling comforted by the presence of another life close by.

"I do believe that we established that I am not to be gawked at _Miss Granger._" He almost growled at her, venom creeping back into his voice as he began to feel uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Like last time I am not here to gawk." She said kindly. "I am glad to see that you are willing to live again Sir. Having someone that depends on you tends to give you a reason to live; I believe Fawkes has had a good influence on you." Snape scoffed at this but continued to stroke Fawkes who began to hum quietly at the attention. "Well I guess I should tell you why I am here." She told him after a moment more of regarding him. "I have come to give you something that I feel will help you. Well, if nothing else it may at least make you feel a little better when you go up for your trial which I hope you know begins at the end of the month."

"And what could you possibly have that would do that?" He scoffed, at least now he knew when the noose would tighten around his neck. Though, she claimed that she had something that might ease his dealings with the court. He would have been grateful a few months ago for a vial of poison to just finish the job, but he suspected that even then she would not have complied.

"You will see when the time comes, for now just be assured that you will not be left undefended. Dumbledore is the only wizard that I know of that can reach out from the grave and meddle with the future. Just know that there are those who will stand up for you in court." Hermione told him with a hard look. Well that was not something he had expected. Dumbledore had something that might help him, despite the fact that old wizard was dead. This might prove to be a most interesting trial after all. Perhaps a little excitement before they sentenced him to death.

"I just thought that you might like to at least look reasonable when you go before the Wizengamot. So I have brought you these." She continued and pulled four vials from a pocket concealed in her robes. All contained a pearly liquid; three had a slightly blue hue that swirled in the opaque fluid while the third had a slightly yellow tint. She placed them on the table in a line. "These are from my own personal stores." She told him. "They are probably not for your hair type, but it will have to do. I have had no time or direct reason to develop a Potion for anything other than my hair. The three vials with the blue hue are shampoo and the yellow is conditioner. I figured that you would need more shampoo than conditioner. An entire vial will likely be needed for each wash."

"What?" Snape gaped in shock, once again something he had never expected. He knew that most of the kids he had taught believed he never bathed, but being around the steaming cauldrons had always reduced his hair quickly to the horrid state the children saw. He briefly thought to be insulted, but then thought the better of it, as he really had not had any way to bathe in far too long and should accept what she offered without taking it as an insult, which he knew was rare enough.

"I brought you shampoo and conditioner that I have developed; one for your trial date, one for your sentencing and one for whenever. You will probably be able to use only half a vial of the conditioner to make it go twice, that's why I only brought you one. I figured that you would want to make something resembling a good impression when you are put on trial." Hermione shrugged. "I thought it might help."

"You have been brewing your own hair Potions?" Was all Snape could ask, in his shock. He could not help what happened next, it was just too ingrained into his system after teaching for so many years. "I want to know more about it before it even gets near my head or my person for that matter. Give me a vial." He switched momentarily back to his teaching voice and give a small scowl that had always been on his face when he was testing a child in his classroom.

"Hermione, don't go near him." Harry Warned from behind her, speaking for the first time since they entered the cell. "He is too dangerous; you are already putting yourself in danger being in here with him."

"Oh come off it Harry. I am more than certain that if he planned to do something than he would already have done something. Besides have you no faith in Fawkes, he wouldn't be here if he was an evil person, extend a little trust once in a while. He was a trusted member of the Order before and there are others in power who have given him the courtesy of trusting him even now. I think you need to let bygones be bygones both of you and start out on a cleaner state than is obviously here. And if you can't at least extend trust to him, uphold the trust you have in me. I will not purposely put myself someplace I feel unsafe." Hermione reprimanded him, turning to give him a deep scowl and sharp look. Snape knew in that moment that he would not want to ever suffer her wrath or have it directed at him. She had become a very powerful woman and witch and just the glare from her had the effect of a small curse. He briefly wondered what might happen if she had her wand with her.

"I was just saying…" Harry scowled back giving a little ground to the blaze in the Gryffindor's eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt over him." He motioned to Snape with a jut of his chin.

"I can take well enough care of myself in this case." She told him and then turned back around to face Snape. She reached over and grabbed one of the vials that had the blue hue. Then she took two steps closer to Snape so that she stood an arm's distance away from him. "Hold out your hand." She told him and Snape complied. She placed the vial in his palm and stepped back away from him, but only one step.

Snape carefully examined the vial's content through the vial then uncorked it and gave a sniff. The smell of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon floated into the air of the room. He carefully wafted the Potion under his large nose and sniffed in its scent. He vaguely recognized some of the ingredients, but he had never had them in a Potion together, at least not for this purpose. He was intrigued by how she had come about making such an obviously complicated Potion, just for her hair. "What did you use as a base?"

"I used a simple basic recipe I found in some research, and then I began to modify the Potion until I got the desired results. I am very pleased by the results thus far. I have yet to get it to the exact results that I want, but it is close. I only have to add a few charms to my hair to get it to stay manageable now, where as before it was more charmed that this room." Snape raised an eyebrow at this, he had noticed her hair had become less bushy and appeared to be more silky and manageable than before. For the briefest moment he wondered how it might feel beneath his fingers.

"I used it this morning and have been using variations to the Potion you've got in your hand for a couple months. My hair has yet to change color, length or fall out. You don't need to look so worried about the thought of putting the liquid on your head or in your hair." Hermione told him with a small smile playing on her lips, obviously thinking he had meant she was incompetent. That was one thing he knew she wasn't, he had seen that time and time again in his classroom and a few times in battle. Snape returned the stopper to the top and scoffed at her comment.

"I suspect that you are here for more than just this." He said flatly keeping all emotion from his voice and looked coolly at her. There was no reason why she would come to give him something not only so personal, but so kindly without wanting something in return. He figured it was how she was placating some sort of guilt at trying to use him for something. '_You really think she is trying to use you?_' The little voice in his head admonished him, he tried to ignore it.

"You're only partially right. I came here as I did last time, expecting nothing but hoping. I believed that you deserved to at least have a chance to at least feel better about yourself by getting clean. But I also needed another reason for coming that cannot be denied. I am running out of a vital Potions ingredient that I can find only here for the Potions for the horse in my care. I came hoping to be gifted with another vial of Phoenix tears." She told him matter of factly. "I am not here demanding them from you or Fawkes, but I am here asking for them. You both have every right to refuse and I will leave without complaint if you choose to withhold such an ingredient from me. I have neither the power, nor wish to possess the power to force it from either of you." Well she was definitely not as pushy as he had expected her to be. She even was courteous enough to allow him to refuse her request, which was much more than anyone had done in a long time, if ever really. Though as kind as her appeal was she really had no right to request such a thing, he toyed with the idea of refusing her because he could. Just as he was thinking these things Fawkes began to tighten his feet around his leg with an iron grip. Looking down into the bird's eyes he was reprimanded.

'_Don't refuse her request.'_ Fawkes told him. _'I know your thinking about it. You are correct; she doesn't fully have the right to ask for such a thing as my tears, only you have that power and right as my companion. But she has the tenacity to ask as well as the realization that such a request may be denied. She is a very, very powerful individual with a great fire and pure heart. She can wield the power in my tears, which is why I let her have what she did last time. She has not misused it; she has just come to the end of the amount I gave her. I will not release your leg until you agree to give her what she asks for.'_ Fawkes gave him a rather hard and pointed look and contracted his feet even tighter, darn bird knew how to get a point across.

"Well, since you put it that way I am inclined to refuse you on principle if nothing else." Snape growled with a hint of anger in his voice. "But as Fawkes deems it necessary to cut off all circulation to my legs until I agree then I have little choice in the matter. I assume that you brought a vial with you then to collect them in."

"Of course Sir." She nodded and drew the empty vial from her pocket. She stepped back to him and held out the vial. She switched the vial in his hand to the empty vial. Then she placed the vial of shampoo next to the others on the table.

Snape held the uncorked bottle down to Fawkes who cried carefully into the bottle until it was full and Snape corked it. Snape held out the vial to Hermione to see if she would take it from his hand, wanting to see how far her foolish courage would carry her. She did and gave him a genuine smile as she did; lighting up the room and making him feel a little better than before.

"Thank you." She said to him as she placed the vial whence it had come. "I appreciate you doing this for me, both of you." She indicated both Snape and Fawkes with her words. "I will not forget your kindness. I am in your debt." He did not believe that she really meant it as genuine as she was trying to be. There was no reason for such a beautiful young woman to feel indebted to an old bitter man such as himself, no matter what help he had rather begrudgingly extended.

"Come on Hermione," Harry told her. "You got what you came for, now let's leave." He was still scowling at the interactions between Hermione and himself.

"Well, I guess I shall see you back on the outside again." She nodded to Snape with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do once you're out. Just don't do anything that will land you back in here, Dumbledore and others have worked far too hard to get you out to see you just come right back. Take care of yourself." She told and went back to the door and Harry who then ushered her out of the cell as quickly as he could with a glare over his shoulder as the door was closed and left Snape and Fawkes alone in the cell again.

"Well I didn't expect that." Snape breathed when they had gone. "What did you mean when you said she didn't fully have the power to ask for your tears?" He asked the bird who still sat on his leg, though he could feel he had circulation again.

'_Only you as my chosen companion have the right to ask for my tears, feathers or knowledge, among other things. As my chosen companion I communicate and interact with only you unless you tell me otherwise and that is usually on a case by case basis. I helped Harry out in his second year because Dumbledore had admonished me early on when the boy came to Hogwarts that if the need was great enough I must do what I could to help him. I knew that he could not face the Basilisk on his own so I went to his aid.' _Fawkes told him, arching his back as Snape stroked his feathers.

"But you didn't answer my question; you said she didn't have the _full_ power to request the tears. That implies that she has some power or right somehow. What are you not telling me?" He scowled at the bird.

'_You are correct; she does have a form of power that allows her to ask me for my tears. She did phrase her request correctly enough though that even without, it makes her appeal hard to deny, but it still could have been denied if I had seen it fit.'_ Fawkes told him, still dancing around the exact answer that Snape wanted.

"That is still only part of the answer." He glared at the bird. "Why does she have such a power, I thought you only bonded to one person and did not leave that companion until their death."

'_That is most definitely true and don't look as though you think that I will up and leave you here to rot all alone and no your death is not quickly approaching as far as I can see. There is no other that I could bond with so fully.'_ He told Snape.

"You have yet to answer why she has any power with you at all. Answer me!" He almost bellowed at the bird on his leg.

'_I cannot tell you, you have to find that out on your own, but I will tell you that you have made quite a fine choice. Your future burns very bright indeed. You only have to let the fire ignite and spread without trepidation and you will know what I mean soon enough.'_ He told Snape and hopped off his leg and went back to his customary perch on the sink.

"What is that suppose to mean?" He glared at the bird angrily, but Fawkes would not look at him again and set about preening before he took another nap. He did not know what to think of what Fawkes had told him so he chose to not think on it anymore for a while. Snape looked over at the vials on the table. They stood in a line facing him. He knew that even though she had thought them not to be the right formula, that she would have made the Potion correctly for the recipe that she had used. It would be very rare he knew for her to mess a Potion up. He crossed over to the table and picked up the vials carefully and then placed them all on the floor next to the head of his bed. He wanted to keep them close to his person now that he had them. They now represented a kindness that had been rarely, if ever bestowed upon him by anyone, much less a beautiful young woman of great poise, power and intelligence. Once he had carefully placed the vials next to the leg of his cot he laid back down for another nap, his one escape from the maddening silence and loneliness that had been his reality for nearly six months. As if to comfort him he heard Fawkes begin to hum from the corner.

**A/N: well, well, well. Hermione has power with Fawkes, interesting… wonder what it could be? Well you guys will find out soon enough. hope you enjoyed this posting. The next will be Severus' day in court. That should be a regular dog and pony show, but then again, bureaucrats and all that red tape *sigh*. **

**I will post again if you all would be so gracious as to bestow another five reviews on this amazed author. If I get them quick enough I should be able to post one last time before I am relegated to fighting for a computer at the library again. happy reading- Dragons Quill**


	17. Before the Wizengamot

**A/N: thanks for all the reviews guys. I really appreciate the feed back. I have a couple specific things to address at the end, so enjoy the chapter and read the endnotes please. **

**In this chapter Severus finally gets his court date. YEAH!**

_Before the Wizengamot (17)_

It was later that month, two weeks to be exact that the eye slit was pulled back at an unusual time and a wand was pointed into the room. He was informed that he was to lie in his cot and not make any trouble when the door was opened. He complied because it was the safest thing to do. Two Aurors entered the room after that and he was bound with magic shackles. His arms were bound in front of him and his legs were bound tight enough so that he could only take shuffling steps.

He had washed himself the best that he could in the sink the night before and had used the shampoo and conditioner that he had been given. He was not quite sure why he had decided that night to be the night he would do it, but he suspected that Fawkes knew more about the outside world than he let on. Whatever the reason he had and now he was grateful. He felt as the Aurors cleaned him up the best that they could, making his dirty robes closer to clean and straight at least. When he was lead from the room Fawkes flew after him and landed on his shoulder. The Aurors tried to shoo him away but all they got was the angry snapping of his beak at them.

"Stay here bird." One told him angrily. "You have no place coming with him. You have no place with him to begin with, but we have let you stay anyway. You are not coming with him to the Wizengamot." Fawkes made an angry noise at him and took a swipe at him with his beak.

"I doubt there is anything that you can say to him that will make him leave." Snape told the Aurors. "I have tried to make him leave for months to no avail, I have given up. I suggest that you do as well and let the bird do as he sees fit, he will do so no matter what you try to do."

"We never said you could talk." The one who had spoken told him pointing his wand menacingly at him, but out of range from Fawkes. "You are to be silent." Fawkes gave him a very powerful and almost hateful look. Snape only sneered and barely nodded, he could sense the fear from this man. He might talk a big game and be in a job that required him to fight evil at every turn, but he was still scared of Severus Snape, he vaguely wondered if he had taught him. It lent him just a little hope.

"Let the bird do as he wishes, the Wizengamot will deal with him. We were under direct orders not to be late. Walk." He pointed down one of the halls with his wand. Snape did as he was told and began his shuffling gait down the hall with Fawkes sitting heavily, but comfortingly on his shoulder giving him a gentle squeeze with his talons as if to reassure him.

When they got to a room with a door that was different than the rest he was lead inside. He was then lead around the room in a clockwise manner along the wall until they came to the door again. About half way through he had felt that twinge of powerful magic, but did not see any change in the room itself and it confused him until they opened the door again.

They were no longer in Azkaban. They were in another place that Snape guessed was the Wizengamot. He was lead into another windowless room, but instead of being shadowed as the 'transport' room, this room was well lit and resembled an amphitheater. It could hold perhaps a couple hundred spectators and the raised benches at the back of the half circle was where the panel of six judges sat. There was the area between the spectators and the judges that sat a seat that was enclosed with an iron cage and spikes pointed in at the chair.

Snape was lead to the chair and Fawkes took flight to land on top of the cage enclosing the chair as Snape was chained magically and physically to it. Fawkes gave a plaintive call that echoed through the hall and a hush fell on those gathered. With a sigh he sat straighter in his chair and guessed that he shouldn't hide behind his hair like normal, but it was going to be hard. He gave a quick glance around the room, but his gaze did not settle on anyone. Instead he looked to the benches and looked at those who were going to decide the fate of his future.

"Aurors please remove that bird." One of the judges said as Severus was locked in the chair.

"We have tried on numerous occasions." One of the Aurors said. "We have come away with multiple injuries and in one case some nasty burns. We would have prevented his coming if we could have."

"Fine, then proceed with the trail, we don't have time for nonsense." The judge said motioning with his hand. The Aruor gave a brief bow and backed away.

"This is the Case of the Ministry of Magic against Severus Snape." A small squat man beside the benches with a long scroll and a quill called out. "The Ministry charges Severus Snape with being a Death Eater, and all activities related to such a title as well as the murderer of Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Magic. How do you plea?"

"I was a Death Eater at one time, but I turned from that life a long time ago. I will not deny that I was the one that cast the curse that killed Dumbledore." He hung his head, but spoke with a voice that carried through the almost silent room.

"So that settles it," one of the judges said from the bench, "he admits that he did it so we can find hi-"

"There is evidence that will speak for him." A voice cut through the judge's statement from the crowd.

"What is this?" The judge said in an annoyed voice looking into the crowd, as if they had committed a high crime, this man wanted this to be a short, easy trial and just convict him. Snape's head snapped up and gazed around to find the voice that had spoken. His gazed settled on a pair of witches that stood near the middle of the room, a pair of witches that he recognized. Minerva McGonagall and a slightly shorter Hermione Granger stood almost defiantly under the gaze of everyone in the room.

"We have evidence that will speak for Severus Snape." McGonagall said again with all the presence she had with a misbehaving student.

"And I have information concerning the reason for Fawkes' presence." Hermione said with a slightly less imposing presence, but it was enough for those in the room to give her undivided attention when she spoke.

"Well at least someone will be able to tell me why this bird is here." The man grumbled. "Well come up here both of you and proceed with whatever the evidence that you feel necessary to burden the court with."

"I can assure you _Sir_ that the information we will present to you will not burden the court." McGonagall said in a voice that boded no arguments. Both women came down the stairs and crossed over to the benches where the judges sat. McGonagall was carrying a large stone basin filled with multiple vials. She placed the basin in front of the judges on their table.

"Pray tell, what this is?" The judge said rather testily.

"This is the collection of pensives bequeathed to me upon the death of Albus Dumbledore. There is also a letter that was set to me with the collection. I have left nothing out from the entire group, though I would suggest that only the pensieves pertaining to Severus Snape be reviewed for this trial, as it is a large collection and spans the time of quite a few years. The ones concerning the trial are marked with a blue ink while the others are marked in other colors." McGonagall told the judges. "I would suggest that these are looked at posthaste in order for this matter to be cleared up." She handed the letter over to the judges as well. "I only have to add that though he has done some terrible things in the past that I believe that he has paid his penance. He may not have the best of attitudes, but he had shown more than once that his loyalties laid with the Light, and these will prove that. I have nothing more to say."

"Then you are excused." The judge said and levitated the basin away to sit behind them. The he turned to Hermione who stood defiantly before the judges as their gaze settled upon her. 'Not unlike when I berated her in my classes.' Snape thought, but he sensed a slight undertone of fear that had not been there when she stood before him in the Potion's classroom, or even when he had been so mean to her in Azkaban. "You have information as to why that bird is here then?" The judge looked down at her with a critical eye.

"Yes sir." She told him with confidence. "And that is not just some bird; he is Fawkes, once the companion of Dumbledore."

"That bird was Dumbledore's?" One of the other judges gawked.

"Dumbledore did not own Fawkes, just as Professor Snape does not own him now. It is actually more of the other way around. They are and were part of the Order of the Phoenix Keepers. Fawkes chooses a companion who he will spend the rest of their days with; it is the Phoenix's choice not the choice of the person they choose."

"So you are saying that Fawkes, the Phoenix, choose to be with the murderer of his former Master?" One of the judges said with surprise.

"He is no longer a Professor, why do you still call him that?" Another asked almost suspiciously.

"I call him Professor because he was my Potions Teacher during the first six years of my time at Hogwarts. I have always held him in high regard despite the fact his curriculum was ridiculously hard, but he did keep everyone safe and in one piece. There was never any deaths or near deaths in his classes in the time that I was at Hogwarts under his tutelage, though I cannot say the same about his replacement my final year. I also have not had his leave to call him anything besides Professor and until that time I shall refer to him as such.

Despite the fact he may never see me as anything other than an annoying child in his classes I still respect him as he is the man that imparted to me my knowledge and love for Potions. You may have tried to strip him of all respect and dignity, but I believe he should be highly regarded. He risked his life for years in an effort to protect people he knew hated him from coming to untimely deaths. I think his sacrifices were more than enough punishment for anyone to bear.

And yes I am saying that it was Fawkes' choice to come to Professor Snape and choose him as his companion. From what I have read, there are some very specific things that are required form the Phoenix to decide that someone is worthy enough to be bound to. The witch or wizard must be of great magical power with a healthy dose of personal fire. But most importantly the person they choose must be of a true and steadfast heart. Those with an evil or black heart are not considered. If you would like to know more and in greater detail I suggest you read this book, _The Phoenix and Their Keepers__, _as compiled by Sherry Blackwater." She put a slim red leather bound tome on the bench in front of the judges. "I must tell you though, that that copy of the book is to be returned to Hogwarts as it is their copy from the library when you are finished with it." Hermione told them all.

Snape could really not totally process the words that were coming from her mouth. He had noticed that she had still called him professor, but had not thought to question her along those lines. Now he knew that he still held some respect from someone he felt only slightly better, even if that respect was only from the know it all Granger. 'You know you have wondered why she has been so kind to you on her visits.' His inner voice told him. 'Now you know, she has always respected you despite how you have treated her.' His thought process was interrupted by one of the judges speaking again.

"So you are trying to tell us that this man, Severus Snape, Death Eater and murder of Dumbledore is pure of heart?! What rubbish!" The first judge to speak almost roared down at her, glaring at her in an almost predatory manner, Snape did not like this at all. He had felt his heart swell, just slightly mind you, at her former proclamations.

"Yes." She said defiantly, her inner Gryffindor Lioness rising to the occasion quite spectacularly. "He may have always been mean and sour of attitude whenever I interacted with him, but after being a spy for the Light and tortured by Voldemort on a regular basis one can certainly understand why he would carry such an attitude. Especially when encountered by many rather incompetent young minds who have little interest in learning the art of Potions making and would rather follow their hormones around the school. One can hardly blame him at all. Though admittedly, he could have chose to lean more towards a civil demeanor, but he chose not to, and that can't really be held against him too much. I am quite sure that you will find all the answers that you will need between the book and the pensieves so graciously provided to the court by Minerva McGonagall, current Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Magic."

The wheels began turning in his mind again. How did she know he had been tortured by Voldemort on a regular basis? He had worked hard at hiding any weakness that resulted from the bouts of the Cruciatus Curse that had been hurled his way. He had shouldered the pain as best he could for the sake of gathering life saving information. He studied her the best he could through his confinement, but could not pin down where she had gained the information; what he wouldn't do to have her look his direction so he could look inside her mind and find out. He wanted to know how she had learned of his horrible experiences at the hand of Voldemort and the inevitable and deplorable weakness after and while he recovered.

"Well," the man said visibly frustrated and flustered at her tenacity and apparent undeterred attitude at his rather tangible disapproval at her very presence. "Do you have anything more to add then? If not then I suggest you return to your seat."

"Only to say that after six years under Professor Snape's disapproving frown and numerous close calls with dangerously miss-made Potions by a nervous classmate, that your attempt at intimidation by glaring is hardly as effective as I suspect you would like it to be. Have a good day." She said turning on her heels.

"Professor." She nodded to Snape as she walked past him again on the way to her seat. He barely inclined his head in acknowledgment but, his eyes did not leave her until she had sat back down again. The judge she had just addressed was even more frustrated than before, and Snape rather enjoyed watching the man squirm and be unable to regain his composure for almost a full minute. He had just experienced the infuriating presence and persistence of one know-it-all Hermione Granger. Perhaps now they would understand his reasons for being less than civil to her, she was just too frustrating to be around.

Once the man was able to regain some semblance of control over his shock and rage of being talked to in such a manner, especially from one so young he turned to his fellow judges and they all huddled together behind the bench for a moment. Snape could hear some heated emotion filled whispers between the judges but could not make out any words. Finally they all turned back to face the crowd.

"In light of the fact that we now have more and new evidence that must be reviewed before we pass sentencing, we now will adjourn until all of the evidence has been reviewed. Until the time when we have fully reviewed and made our judgments, the prisoner is to be returned to Azkaban until the day of sentencing. This court is no longer in session, Aurors, remove this man." The judge pointed at Snape and motioned for him to be taken away. The pair that had brought him came forward and unshackled him from the chair to lead him away. Fawkes settled back down on his shoulder once he was free from the cage.

Snape was able to take one quick glance back towards the rows of seats that were quickly emptying of people to see two figures sitting beside each other watching him leave. With the briefest nod that he hoped was taken as that of thanks he was lead away, back to his existence in the cell at Azkaban. Fawkes hummed lightly in his chest which he had come to equate with the tendency purr in a cat.

For the first time in a long time Severus felt as if the fates were going to be kind to him.

**A/N: all righty then, our dear Severus has had his day in court, I know I didn't sentence him yet, got to give the judges an attitude adjustment, I mean time to view the new evidence, first. But you know, they have been doing trials for three months, at least before they got to Severus, they just wanted it over with, can't really blame them too much. Oh well, too bad, nothing easy here. Dumbledore planned Severus' defense too well. **

**To address the concern posted by DramaQueen4eva I will also make my reply to everyone too. I was wondering if or when I would get a comment about how long Prince was out of commission. I took some extreme liberties with what he could endure, even my beta made a comment about that (animal lover/fanatic and bottomless pit of interesting and sometimes useful, but always entertaining animal facts, that she is), and we figured he would have keeled over by day two from a blood clot if he hadn't gotten up in that amount of time. but that is beside the point. I know that I stretched the limits to what the horse could physically endure and will be doing so again in a later chapter. I also know that babies can survive with out their moms at that age as well as long as they are fed, and maybe given a goat as some company, that's what we did with one of the babies at college who's mom coliced and died a year or two ago. I have taken so many liberties with what Prince could handle is because I needed to have a good enough reason for her to go see Severus the first time and for him to need potions in his bottles. I am a fourth year equine student at college and I know I was going out on a limb to the very limits of horse hardiness, but I needed to, and will need to again for the sake of the story. I hope that has answered the concerns that might be out there about my equine knowledge and application, or lack there of in my fic. **

**To address the comment brought up by Inner Self- honestly I started writing this story in late April early May, long before DH, so I really didn't use any of that for reference on his background. I was quite amazed and proud of myself for getting so close to cannon without prior knowledge. When I read the chapter dealing with his past I was somewhere between jaw dropping shock, and elation for the closeness to my story. I know I walked around with a little extra spring in my step for a day or two because of it, counter acted the sadness from the war, but if you haven't read DH yet you won't find any spoilers coming from me. Though to let you all know, I will be diverting way off course from cannon in a later chapter, with what he did while he was a death eater. But I shall not reveal too much here, have to keep up the suspense and all, that and I haven't written that chapter yet, so we will all have to wait and see what gets pounded out on the keyboard and where my muse takes me, but I have a rough idea already. **

**Well, I would like to have another 5 reviews before I post again. the one thing I must all warn you about is that I am once again stranded from the internet and have to fight for a space at the library computer, and since I have real life (yuck) and don't live at the library (groan), I can only update every three or four days max. but don't worry I move back to college by the 20****th**** so by the 20****th**** or the 21****st**** I should be posting as fast as I get reviews again. You all were very lucky that I got to stay at my friend's house for almost a week. You guys got quite a windfall of chapters and I swear my head got a size or two bigger with the speed of the response you have all given me. thanks a lot to my reviewers and all the readers, even those who haven't reviewed (I do accept anonymous reviews), all the hits and the feed back has been totally awesome. Happy readings- Dragons Quill**


	18. Party Quirks

**A/N: Yea! Get to post again. I was going to get to the library yesterday, but well I spend the day crawling around the house in search of Midol and hiding under my covers, not one of my better moments. Oh well, such is life, it can't all be a cake walk.**

**Here is the chapter, the Wizarding World celebrates the death of Voldemort and Hermione reminisces. **

_Party Quirks (18)_

It had been nearly two months since Snape's trial had begun. There had been no word yet as to when his sentencing would be. It was not a real surprise to either Hermione or McGonagall as they had both looked at the pensieves and knew how long it had taken for them on a single basis to look through them. In this time though, they were both kept busy.

McGonagall continued to give Hermione lessons in transfiguration, as well as accepting her help at looking for appropriate teachers to fill the now vacant places on the staff. There was also the guest list and the preparations for the first Anniversary party of the defeat of Voldemort. There was to be a big party including what was left of the Order, their families and a few select others to be held at the castle.

As Hermione, McGonagall, and Hagrid were the only ones still on the school grounds it fell to them to get the castle and the Great Hall ready for a party that would be one to remember. The parties would be spectacular events, even though Hermione did not feel completely right partying on the day that so many people had lost their lives.

Each person had a specific job in the preparations. As she was the best of the three at making Potions, it fell to her to make the necessary remedies for mainly after the party. They would likely need a good amount of sober up Potions and she decided to make some emergency contraceptive Potions to have on hand as well. She felt that it would be better to be over prepared than having to try to mix up Potions too hurriedly.

In the weeks before the parties she had rather firmly established herself in the Potion's classroom, occupying many of the student desks with various cauldrons full of Potions at different stages. She had multiple batches of sober-up and hangover relief Potions as well as headache, pep-up, calming and some mild sleeping Potions to go along with a couple batches of contraceptive Potions.

She still had her own brewing to do and felt that she was extremely close to perfecting her shampoo and conditioner to what she wanted. She luckily did not have to worry about making any more Potions for Prince, as he had been weaned about a month earlier. This gave her another cauldron to use as well as not having to worry anymore if she would have enough Phoenix tears to last.

When the week of the party came around, which would have correlated to about a week after graduation had the school been in session, nearly all of the preparations were done. The Great Hall was decorated, there were rooms ready for the guests, the Hospital wing was well stocked and McGonagall had been able to persuade Madame Pomfery to come back as the medi-witch for not only the party but to return when the school began teaching again. The day before the party guests began to arrive and disturb the quiet of the halls, the castle seemed to stir again after being dormant for a year. But it would only be short lived, only for a day or two before the flood of people would leave after the party and let the castle slumber again until August, when the children were slated to come back.

Hermione tried for a while to stay away from most of the people, there were just too many and she wanted to have a few minutes to herself before she was required to make an appearance before them all at the party. There was going to be something going on she knew that would require Harry, Ron and herself at least to stand before the entire gathering and she wanted little to do with the lime light. She had fought hard as the rest to help defeat Voldemort, but she still felt awkWard about celebrating while she knew so many that had lost someone they loved. This also highlighted the fact that she did not have even a boyfriend. She had dated Victor briefly but that had fallen though and the brief time with Ron had been disastrous, luckily the friendship had survived, barely.

She had hidden herself away in the library doing some interesting research on more Transfiguration information, knowing full well that she would soon be found. She knew she could have locked herself away behind her now ridiculously strong Wards, and refuse to see anyone until she was forced to, but she was wanted to see people eventually. As she had predicted in the early afternoon she was greeted in the library by Harry and Ginny. They had a pleasant conversation for a couple hours until they broke away from each other to go and get ready for the party. The pleasant conversation that came from the meeting was cut short by the time, but they promised to continue it later at the party.

Back in her rooms behind Wards that more than rivaled the Potion Master's, Hermione got herself ready for the party. She would have been content to toast the passing of a year free of Voldemort and deal with the pain of a second year without her parents alone, but she knew she must make an appearance. She was excited though to show of the fruits of her labor on her shampoo and conditioner. After washing and spelling her hair dry she slipped into a beautiful powdery blue dress that fell in waves to her ankles. Her hair now cooperated and fell in waves and ringlets along her back as she pulled the front back and spelled it into place. She accented her hair with a few tiny white flowers along the crown of her head. To go along with the dress she wore a pair of teardrop pearl earrings and a chain that sported a triplet of the earrings, something she had saved from her mom.

Entering the Great Hall later that night she was swept up into the hustle and the bustle of the party. She was greeted by all her old friends, what was left of theWeasley clan and many others from the Order. Later that night, but not too much later, before everyone got totally sloshed, there were presentations of aWards. She had known something was going to happen, but McGonagall would not let her in on all the details of what it was to be about. It was the induction and presentation of the metals into the Order of Merlin. There were about ten, all members of the Order, that received the Order of Merlin First Class and about fifteen others that got the other two degrees of the distinction. Along with the metal and recognition there was also a large sum of money that accompanied it that would bee deposited directly from the Ministry's vaults into hers in a few days time.

Much later that night she retired, before many of the other party goers got any drunker than they already were, she made her way back to her rooms and reWarded the door. She had managed to stay close to sober and decided that she should spend some time alone before she went to bed. Sitting before a fire, despite the Warm weather outside the castle and the windows that were thrown open, she felt more at ease. She prominently displayed her new metal above the mantle as a badge to her achievements in the War. She sat and nursed a glass of wine as she stared absently into the fire.

She felt as though something had been missing from the festivities. With a start an undetermined amount of time later she realized what had been missing, Severus Snape. Ok, so he didn't like parties and probably would have avoided the party if he had been around, but she felt that he should have at least had a chance to turn down the party. She hoped that he would have the chance next year and that perhaps his accomplishments against the Dark Lord acknowledged. He really did deserve to be part of the Order of Merlin, for all he went through, First Class all the way.

He had been an instrumental part of the War effort against Voldemort. She knew that there were many in the Wizarding World that hated him for what he had done to Dumbledore. She was almost one of them for a while, but her instincts told her that there was more to the story. In looking through the pensieves left by Dumbledore she had found out that her instincts had been right. One of the earlier memories of the group had been of a conversation between the aged wizard and Snape. In this conversation Dumbledore had extracted an Unbreakable Vow from Snape concerning the very act that he had committed. Dumbledore had made Snape promise to kill him when he asked Snape to do it. This had been years before, when Snape had just become a spy for the Order, long before he had taken the oath to kill Dumbledore in place of Malfoy, if the boy was unable.

With that vow he had turned what was a murder into an important part of the War, the positioning of a side, an act committed in War in order to win the War. It had been something that had been planned out long in advance between the man who committed the act and the man who was to die; it was no longer a murder, but made Dumbledore a casualty of War and nothing more. There was little the Wizengamot could do against Snape for his actions.

Ah Malfoy, she thought, now that was an interesting turn of the worm. The whole Malfoy family had been put on trial one after another in the weeks before Snape's trial began. Lucius had been granted the courteously of the Dementor's Kiss, while his wife was to languish in jail for the rest of her life. Draco had somehow managed to escape direct blame insisting that he was forced into the Death Eater life by his parents. But he still did not escape punishment. All of his family's land and assets had been seized by the Ministry, and now he was sentenced to spend a good deal of the rest of his natural life working for them as a janitor, with severely restricted magic and had to do some of the more demanding (and disgusting) jobs the muggle way; oh how the mighty hath fallen.

With a sigh she set aside the half empty glass of wine to the side to be taken care of at a later time and wandered off to bed, not really paying attention to what time it was. She had promised to introduce Ginny to Prince when she was able to walk again and if Harry or Ron decided to stumble along then, they could meet him too. When this would happen all depended upon how effective her sober up and hangover Potions proved to be. Making sure she had ample vials of pep-up, sober up and hangover Potions on her night stand she extinguished the fire in the hearth with a flick of her wrist and crawled into bed to fall almost immediately asleep.

**A/N: Yeah I know you all probably wanted to hear what happened to Severus. Oh well, not this chapter, have to give the Wizengamot time to look through everything McGonagall and Hermione gave them. Don't worry; I won't leave you all wondering for too much longer.**


	19. Of Broodmares and Rival Stallions

**A/N: here is the second chapter I will post this time. this is the morning after the Anniversary party. Aspirin anyone?**

_Of Broodmares and Rival Stallions (19)_

It was about noon when everyone decided to crawl out of the beds they had fallen into the night before and down to the Great Hall for something to eat. Hermione was one of the few exceptions to the rule and had showered and ate for nearly two hours before the others had made any attempt at living again after the party. Most of the party goers looked rather ragged at brunch, despite the use of various Potions from the Hospital wing. Hermione had left Ginny a note at the table, knowing that someone would find it eventually and give it to her.

She then spent the rest of the day with Prince. She had been busy because of the party preparations and Severus' trial to spend as much time as she wanted with him. She decided that she was going to do a little training with him despite the fact that he was really just still a baby; though he was beginning to get some stallion tendencies beginning to show through. He was only about nine months old, but she figured if she got some basic commands down that she could more safely do some more complicated things later, in a year. She knew it was unconventional, but she figured that she might as well try teaching him some easy commands that one might use on a dog.

Prince had been overjoyed to see her again after seeing her only briefly in the weeks before that party. Winky had been faithfully making sure that he had been taken care of and had really been training him too. He would now put his head down every time she came into the stall and would accept her at the end of the lead rope for turn out and to be brought back in for the night. Hermione had begun to teach him to come to her whistle and he was responding well, especially when he got his favorite treat, a cucumber sandwich wedge. She was still trying to figure out how she was going to teach him to heel and then follow her, but she figured that it would come with time and practice.

At about one Ginny came wondering in the clearing beside the stables where there were a couple good sized turnout paddocks. She waved to Ginny from across one of the paddocks and began to walk towards her to meet her halfway. Prince fell in behind her and she took the opportunity to command him to heel then whoa, which only worked marginally. But she figured that it had been in a step in the right direction considering it was the first time she had tried it.

When they met in the middle Prince rather cautiously approached Ginny, who seemed a bit tense herself. She was not used to horses so close. But after a few minutes of Prince regarding her and giving her a proper sniffing over, while Ginny didn't quite know what to do. Prince decided that she was ok and began to give a more in depth exploration of her pants pockets looking for some type of treat. Hermione gave a little laugh.

"Scratch him behind the left ear," she offered up to Ginny who still looked rather unsure of what she should do. "He seems to think you're ok, but you will really make a friend if you give him a good scratch." Tentatively she reached out and began a gentle scratch behind his ear and then scratched harder as Prince began to arch his neck into her hand. After a minute or two Hermione watched as Prince's tail began to droop and sag as well as his ears and his eye lids became heavy and began to shut. His bottom lip also began to hang and wag a little. "Keep that up." She said with a laugh, "and you'll have him falling over."

"You might be right." Ginny giggled looking at the state she had reduced the young stallion to. "Do you think if I did the same thing to Harry he would listen to me more often?" She looked over at Hermione with a wicked grin.

"What you and Harry do in your personal lives is something I _really_ don't need to hear about Ginny!" Hermione almost squealed in disgust and laughter. "You two are like brothers and sisters to me; I really don't need anything like that running around in my head, _thank you very much!_"

Ginny gave an equally wicked grin as before. "Speaking of him, here comes Harry now." She said looking back to where she had come from, to see Harry walking through the break in the trees. She stopped scratching Prince and waved.

After a second or two of not having his head scratched he gave himself a small shake and seemed to come out of the stupor. He nuzzled both Hermione and Ginny kindly and then turned his attention on the new intruder into his domain. His attitude did a complete 180 and he turned from loving pushover to something far more aggressive. He stepped in front of both the girls and pinned his ears flat against his skull, eyeing Harry with an evil glare. He stomped his foot and bellowed, though it was not as deep as it would be when he got older.

"Ah Harry!" Hermione called out to him. "You have two options, be submissive, very submissive or leave!" She tried to impart on him the gravity of the situation. "And I suggest you leave and leave quickly!"

"Why?" Harry always seemed to ask stupid questions at the most inopportune times, but to his credit he did stop. "I don't understand."

"You are threatening Prince, or at least he feels threatened." She called out to him. "You are challenging him by being in his domain. He doesn't seem to like guys at all, and seeing as you are a guy, he doesn't like you." Hermione called. "Ginny and I are more than safe but you are not, I will talk to you later about this, just leave, NOW!"

"Fine, fine," she heard him grumble and he backed away with a scowl on his face and then walked across the field and out of the clearing. Prince gave a final snort and squeal after him and when he was not longer in his sight his ears came forward and the tension was let out of his muscles. Then he turned back and began to nuzzle Hermione affectionately. Ginny peered almost fearfully out from behind her.

"What was that all about?" She gulped.

"I have done some research on his behavior." She said quietly. "I don't want to geld him because he is too valuable and almost like my baby." She said absent mindedly as she rubbed his neck, patting him. "He is protecting his band, so to speak. I think that he believes me and now you because you were with me, to be his, and Harry being another male is trying to come and steal me away from him. I guess he just isn't a guy kind of horse."

"Well I would qualify what he did as very scary." Ginny said. "I won't want to be on the receiving end of whatever he just did."

"I can agree with that, but I guess that it can help me. I know he will do what he can to protect me. And that is a nice feeling to know that I am cared for that much, even if it a horse that feels that way."

"I suppose so, but I still wouldn't want to cross him." Ginny agreed.

"Neither would I." Hermione agreed while scratching Prince's neck.

**A/N: Before anyone says it, yes I know I took some pretty big liberties with Prince's personality, trust me there is a reason, just wait, you'll see. That said, hope you liked the chapter. Sort of short, but it works. Next chapter is Severus' sentencing. Told you I won't make you all wait too long.**

**I would like to have 5 reviews before I post again- probably Mondayish (I hope, I hope, I hope). I am so glad you guys seem to like my story so far. I know I'm now hearing a 'must write more now!' from Skydancinghobbit (wonderful friend and beta, almost a sister- just have to deal with that pesky problem of the DNA, oh well.), seems to be the same thing I tell her about her fic. Read on fan fic lovers, read on!- Dragons Quill**


	20. To Be Human Again

**A/N: Yea got to the library again, only 7 more days till unlimited internet access – jump around like mad person- ok I'm back. well anyway, this is Severus' sentencing day.**

_To be human again (20)_

It had been a long three more months since he had been called before the Wizengamot and Severus' good feeling that he had had when leaving, had been severely dampened by the passage of so much time. He knew only that he had not been sentenced officially to languish in jail for the rest of his mortal time, but he did wonder if he had been forgotten. He tried very hard not to fall back into his depression but it had been terribly hard, even with Fawkes there trying to help him through.

The truth was that he had been anything but forgotten. The Wizengamot had not met publicly for anymore trials yet. They were all delving heavily into the pensives that Dumbledore had left in Snape's defense. They were trying as hard as they could to find fault and problem with what they saw. The _problem_ was that they could _not_. There was just too much credible and powerful evidence to show that Severus Snape was an innocent man, or at least had paid his penance time and time again at the hands of Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. As well they had the testimony and the book explaining what it meant to be a Phoenix Keeper.

As hard as they tried, they found it nearly impossible to come up with a credible reason why he should be further detained. Despite the fact they came to this conclusion about a week before the Anniversary of Voldemort's defeat, they decided that they would put off the sentencing and release of Snape until after the celebrations were over.

The first year Anniversary was marked by Severus in his own way. He woke that morning with an ache in his left forearm. Ripping back the fabric of his prison robes he gazed in horror at the place where the Dark Mark had once been burned into his very soul. It had faded when the Dark Lord had been killed, but it had never really gone completely away. It had blurred, but it had turned to a deathly gray mark on his arm. He had noticed that it almost seemed to fluctuate in the depth of coloring with his mood. He did not really understand or want to understand it. 'At least' he thought to himself, 'it is acting differently than when he was still alive. At least he won't be coming back this time.'

Leaning against the wall beside the bed he reflected on the last year as the ache in his arm subsided. He had spent most of the year languishing away in Azkaban doing nothing and helping no one. The other portion had been spent trying to set up as much as he could to take down Voldemort, while still on the run from the Order and mourning the death of his only friend by his own hand. The only bright memories that flitted through his mind of the whole year, despite the obvious death of Voldemort, was Fawkes' arrival and the three brief times he had been able to see Hermione Granger. He did not like to think that he enjoyed the time she had chosen to see him and treat him with respect that no one else showed; she was a Gryffindor after all. But he could not deny that she had certainly added a few moments of something other than self hatred and aimless anger for the last year. With a deep sigh he wished for nothing more than a decision to be made as to his fate so that he could either get on with his life or end it, depending on the outcome.

One week after the Anniversary Snape decided he would use the last of his shampoo and conditioner on a gut instinct as he had before. And just as the last time, he was right on target. The Wizengamot had called for him to appear before them the very next day. When the Aruors came for him they did not try to separate Fawkes from him as they had last time, but kept their distance from the irritable creature. He was once again lead to the room where he walked around and then was lead out again in a different place. He was once again lead and bound in the chair within a cage. He searched the crowd that was gathered the best that he could but could not find anyone he knew.

"The court is now back in session." The same little man called out from beside the bench. "This is for the sentencing of Severus Snape and his fate thereafter. What is the verdict judges?"

"We the judges begrudgingly find Severus Snape not guilty of the charges set against him in light of overwhelming and overpowering evidence in his favor. His time has been more than served and he is to be returned all rights, his wand, assets and lands that had been seized at the end of the War. All the paperwork will be done by the end of the week, he may not return to his ancestral lands as they will be the State's until then. You are free to go." One of the judges said.

He was obviously not happy with his decision, but there was little he or any of the other judges could do. They had taken a magical oath before they took the bench to dole out appropriate and the correct judgments on the trials they presided over. When the judge announced such a thing there was a great uproar from the people in the galleries, they were without question not happy with the decision. Neither were the Aurors who had brought him. They both scowled deeply as they let his bounds go, but were obligated and unable to do anything but comply.

The absolute astonishment that Severus felt was dumbfounding. He could hardly believe that he had heard what he had heard. It was just not something that should have ever happened. He had murdered his best friend and he was going unpunished by the law!? He would never be free from the punishment of his own knowledge of what he did though. He did not know what had been working in his favor to get him away from the wretched horrid cell, but he thanked whatever it had been.

Once he was released from his bounds he stretched and messaged his wrists. Fawkes glided down to rest on his shoulder. Just then a familiar voice sounded from behind him and he spun around, nearly knocking poor Fawkes off his shoulder.

"Severus," McGognall's voice rang out. "I knew that you would be a free man again." She smiled kindly at him, he also saw a smiling Hermione beside her. "I would like to extend my warmest regards and return to you something I am sure you have missed. I have kept it safe for you." She held out his wand to him grip first.

Severus was not quite sure how to react. He was not quite sure if he should give his customary sneer or to break with tradition and do something else (like give McGonagall a hug). He slowly reached out and took his wand from her hand and ran his hand along its length in a loving manner. "I would like to thank you Minerva." He said quietly, reveling in the feeling of being back in control of his own destiny with his wand in his hand. "It had been too long since I held my wand." He then turned his wand towards himself and transfigured the horrid prison robes into his customary immaculate, billowing black robes with an innumerable number of buttons down the front.

"I have also brought you these as well." She said, drawing his attention back to the situation. She held out to him a letter and a leather pouch. "You will need them." Snape eyed them carefully, but took them anyway because he trusted Minerva in this situation; she had kept his wand intact and had given it back to him after all. "I hope to see you around again soon." She said. "But for now I must be back to the school, I have other staff members to track down. Have a good day Severus." She turned with a smile and a nod and walked away through the thinning crowd leaving the room.

"I hope to see you again soon too Professor." Hermione said with a smile. "But I also must be going, my help is needed elsewhere. Have a good day." She turned and trailed after McGonagall. Snape wasn't quite sure what that might mean, but he turned his attention to what he had been handed. From the weight of the pouch he assumed that it held a small fortune in coins, probably more money than he had had in his hand in a long time; he was not quite sure how to take that. He did not want any charity from anyone, but he also knew he would not be able to access anything that had been his before the War until about a week, as the judges had said; the paperwork had to get done. He promised himself he would pay Minerva back as he pocketed the pouch.

Turning his attention to the letter he regarded it carefully. The letter was on heavy parchment and embossed with the Hogwarts' seal. On the back was a wax seal also bearing the school's crest. Carefully breaking the seal he read the following and almost fell over in shock.

Dear Severus Snape,

I would first like to congratulate you on your acquittal. I would also like to let you know that there is a room at the Leaky Cauldron that has been rented in your name for the two nights after the trail. The money in the pouch is yours to keep for whatever purpose you choose to spend it.

With that information out of the way I would like to extend an invitation to you to rejoin the Hogwarts' staff as Potions Master, and Head of Slytherin House, just as you were before the War. I would also like to extend to you the position of Deputy Headmaster, in place of myself now that I have assumed the role of Headmistress. This will of course come with a small pay increase to the pay rate you were receiving before the War forced you from teaching.

I would like to inform you that I would have extended this opportunity to you even if it had not been on the direct insisting of the former Headmaster, Dumbledore. You have always been an important part of the Hogwarts' staff and it would be impossible to replace you with your expertise and unique take on life. You are also the best candidate for the job with your knowledge and experience and to deprive the children of your knowledge would be a tragedy.

Please inform me within two weeks of your decision either by owl or by coming to the school. Either way you are free to come and collect your things from your chambers if you choose to no longer remain on staff. Your former chambers have not been touched or entered into by anyone except the house elves since your abrupt departure. If you choose to stay on staff then you can move in at your earliest convince. If you are staying I would also like a copy of your lesson plans and inventory lists due at the regular time. I truly wish for you to stay on staff and to hear from you concerning your decision soon.

Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Severus could hardly believe what he was reading. He actually had to read the letter twice for it to actually sink in. Not only had his housing for the next two days been taken care of, his monetary issues addressed, but he was being offered a job. A job at his old teaching position, almost as if nothing had ever happened. He swayed on his feet in disbelief for a few seconds, all alone in the room after everyone had left.

He knew that he should accept the offer; actually he knew he had to. From what the reaction to his acquittal had been, it was obvious that most, if not all the Wizarding World hated him. As such he was most likely not in line for any job offers, the fact he had this one was astonishing to him. He was also intrigued by the fact that this was something that Dumbledore had wanted. He briefly recalled the comment that Hermione had made the last time she had seen him, it was true, there were few if any wizards that could literally reach from beyond the grave to manipulate the future. With a sigh he looked up at Fawkes who hummed quietly and quite contently on his shoulder.

"Well, it looks like you are going to be going back to Hogwarts again." He told Fawkes. "But not tonight. Tonight we are going to the Leaky Cauldron and then going to Diagon Alley to get some much needed things." Fawkes cooed in response and settled more comfortably on his shoulder. Straightening his shoulders that best he could, he swept out of the room with his robes billowing out behind him and trademark scowl set firmly in place to where he could apparate to the Leaky Cauldron.

**A/N: ok guys, see I didn't leave him to rot in Azkaban, I couldn't do that. besides this is a fic with a SS/HG pairing. Little hard when one half a pair is in jail. Well hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I would like to have 5 more reviews before I post again. I will hopefully be able to get to the library again around Friday, but if I don't the next chapter will be up Monday night or Tuesday of next week, guaranteed. I have to see how tired I am after moving back into the dorm room. anyway, after this week it will be easy to post again without making a trek of it, so you can expect quicker updates than what I have been able to do the last couple weeks. and as always I must give kudos to my wonderful fanfic sister and beta Skydancinghobbit, she tends to beat me with the comma stick before I acknowledge the power of the comma, but hey, what are friends for if they don't tell you how it is. Till then read on fanfic lovers, read on- Dragons Quill**


	21. Foundations

**A/N: YEA!! I have internet again, jump around like a squirrel with too much caffeine (see Hemi- squirrel from **_**Over the Hedge**_**). Hope you guys like the next chapter, here it is.**

_Foundations (21)_

A week after Snape's acquittal Hermione was working her way through the library again. She had taken to spending the time that she was not in lessons with McGonagall to look up strange and interesting facts about, well, anything. She would also spend the time keeping up to date on the transfigurations periodicals and some of the more advanced theories and spells in the restricted section. She was sitting quite comfortably at a table in the Restricted Section, Warming herself in a shaft of sunlight when it was suddenly cut off. Lifting her head up to protest the obstruction, she was stuck by a moment of shock that kept her quiet.

She knew he had been back for a couple days, but she had not seen him yet and it was obvious that he had not noticed her yet, as his back was turned. For a moment she studied him. He was a contrast in light and dark. He was silhouetted against the light that shone from behind him; darkening his black hair and the billowing black robes that he wore. His pale skin almost seemed to have a glow to it in the sun and was in sharp difference to the black. He had gained a little bit of weight since the last time she had seen him and he was closer to the weight she had always seen him as, though granted she had only his face to go by, but it had begun to fill out again, though he still had the sharp angles of his skeleton under his skin.

Almost to her surprise his hair that had always seemed greasy and lank was not. It was straight and slightly stringy but it was most definitely clean. Thinking back on the weeks she had spent making Potions for the party, she remembered how her hair had taken on a limp and oily texture as she had leaned over so many cauldrons. It had taken her five consecutive washes with the harshest muggle shampoo she could get her hands on to make it look normal again.

"Hello professor." She said cheerfully with a smile.

He had obviously not expected anyone else to be in the room and spun around with his wand drawn and pointed at her throat, a brief moment of shock crossed his naturally schooled features before he returned his face to its customary scowl and glacial stare. Though to his credit he did lower his wand and his shoulders relaxed a little before he spoke with an icy tone that he tended to used on First Year Gryffindors. "What are you doing here Miss Granger? I was under the impression that you graduated two years ago. While you made the library your home while you lived at the school, don't you think it a little extreme to still be here?"

"I do live here." Hermione said with an unfaltering smile. "The same as you do."

"What exactly does that mean?" He growled after a brief moment of contemplation.

"It means that I am on staff. I am replacing Minerva as the Transfiguration  
Teacher and am currently having an apprenticeship right now. The lesson for today is over and I have some time to get things done for myself. I find the Restricted Section to be most enlightening. I wish it hadn't been restricted while I was a student, but I can certainly see the logic in it now that I have read some."

"You are going to be a teacher? ... Here?" He ground out between clenched teeth. Hermione watched as his wand twitched and wondered vaguely if he was going to hex her. He had been alone for a very long time and unused to general human contact.

"Yes, and seriously Sir, it really isn't that bad. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and this provided me with a way to help my alma-mater as well as advance myself in the Wizarding World. It is a win-win situation really." She said still smiling at him. He scoffed at that.

"I would like to congratulate you on your release from Azkaban as well. I am very glad that the Wizengamot came to the correct decision. I am also very glad that you have chosen to come back here to teach. It is an honor and privilege to teach on the same staff as you." Once again he scoffed at this and with the way the air resonated in his abnormally large, but not necessarily unattractive nose, it reminded her of a horse's snort. Hey wait where did that thought come from? With a mental shrug she pushed that though aside and continued.

"No seriously Sir, it really is an honor. You taught me everything I knew about Potions. The teacher they hired in your place was draft by comparison. I didn't learn anything in that class that year. I did manage to learn a little about Potions though in my 7th year. All I had to do was convince Mr. Thornburgh of a text I required and he would then sign a pass for the book from the Restricted Section." Too easy really she had thought, she also knew she should have felt a prang of guilt manipulating a teacher like that, but she didn't.

"You, manipulated a teacher?" He scowled at her. "I would have expected better from you Miss Granger."

"Manipulation is such a harsh word, I would rather use persuasion." She said with a smirk. "It was far too easy, ask him a few stupid questions about this ingredient or that and he was eating out of my hand. Potions went from one of the subjects I liked the most during the week to one of the worst. The challenge was gone and one can only hear how hard a Potion we did in our third year can be and then hear how astonished he was when more than half the class created the Potion to near perfection, Blach." It was her turn to give a slight snort.

"You enjoyed Potions?" He asked the astonishment he felt flickered over his face before he could hide the fact that he had emotions other than disapproval and anger.

"Yes," she nodded. "Don't look so surprised Professor. I really did enjoy the challenges that you presented at each class. Though admittedly your tendency towards giving us Potions at least two years ahead of what is expected of any other Potion's student and then insulting the intelligence of most of the class for not getting it right, was a bit much. Yet I must admit that I learned more in your class than in most of my others." She told him, the look of astonishment crossing his face again. "Well if you don't believe me then take a look into my head. I know you are very, very skilled in Legilimency, if you weren't then you would be dead." She said without hesitation.

"You should know better than to so willingly offer up your mind, the greatest of your age, especially, to one such as myself." He growled.

"I am not offering up my entire mind, only those memories that pertained to my time in Potions class. I have learned my own lessons in Occlumency and have some strength to resist or break the connection if you decided to delve into more personal areas of my mind. You really don't scare me; you haven't since my second year. Instead I respect you and though I don't agree with your teaching methods I can say they were effective. Besides I trust you, I have no reason not to."

"You can't see a reason not to trust me?!" He almost bellowed at her. "Have you been so buried in your books for the last five years that you have not noticed anything going on around you?! I have killed my only friend in cold blood because I choose not to die that night. I really should have, for that is all I deserve for such a cowardly act and for everything else I have done!"

"You did what you had to and nothing more, at least in the last five years. For your actions before that, I believe you have paid your penance as it is. Your work bringing down Voldemort far outweighs what you may have done in your beginnings as a Death Eater, of that much I am sure. Simply enduring the Cruciatus Curse so many times and living to tell about it is a feat in and of itself, you have great strength. Most others would have buckled under the pressures and tortures. I would even go so far as to say that you deserve the Order of Merlin, First Class of course, for your service in the War." She told him with a stern look to tell him she was telling the truth.

Thinking of no good retort for this, at least not any which would help his case he merely scoffed and turned to stalk away from her with his teaching robes billowing out behind him. He had worn his teaching robes simply because they were a familiar and almost comforting, making him almost believe things had gone back to 'normal'. Though 'normal' for him had always been with Voldemort around and that was the last thing he wanted. He was really not in any mood to try to enlighten the girl to why it was unwise to trust him, and he wasn't totally sure he wanted to convince her. It had been a long, long time since anyone had truly trusted him, not since he had killed Dumbledore. He did not stalk too far away from where she sat, but came to rest only a few shelves away at another table with a few Potions magazines.

He had known that there was another person in the room when he had gone most of the way into the library. He could hear the soft rustling of pages as they were turned at relatively even intervals. He did not think much of it though; he just assumed that Minerva had come down for something. He had never encountered anything out of place in the library of Hogwarts and it had always been one of his retreats when he wanted to be somewhere other than his dungeons or his common room when he had been a student. He had soon become engrossed in looking through the Restricted Section, reveling in the presence of so much literature again after so long without access to such material, especially the content that was held within the Restricted Section; he had not noticed who else it was that was in the library.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should be more vigilant, he had been a successful spy under the Order, staying alive while betraying Voldemort. He knew that there were still those who wanted him dead for what he had done to Dumbledore, and the truth was he felt almost like he deserved it, but he still didn't want to die, not just yet anyway. He kept his wand close and easy to draw, he would not be caught completely unaware. He had eventually gone to one of the windows to look out before he choose a book, as if to reassure himself that it wasn't all just a dream.

What he hadn't counted on was her, Hermione Granger. She wasn't supposed to be here in the library. She had graduated and should have been long gone, doing something great for the Wizarding World, again, after helping to kill Voldemort. He had a hard time schooling his face into impassiveness from the shock of seeing her there. She sat in a shaft of sunlight that illuminated her face in a Warm glow and he could see that she had indeed advanced her shampoo and conditioner from the last time he had seen her. She had her hair thrown back in a messy twist to keep it out of her face, but even with that it fell in soft, smooth, curls and waves.

He longed to reach out and run his fingers through her hair and see if it really was as silky as he thought it was, but he knew he couldn't. She was such a beautiful creature and he was ugly. Not only that, but she had been a former student of his, there was no way that she thought of him other than the greasy bat of the dungeons that terrorized young children for entertainment. No, there was no way he would ever be able to act on anything he might feel. But he still could not get her out of his dreams ever since she had come to see him in prison. The dreams had advanced in frequency with each time he saw her.

He also was trying to puzzle out the meaning of what Fawkes had implied. If he was a Phoenix Keeper and Fawkes would only bond to one person at a time, then why did she have any power to ask for things from him at all? He also did not know how she had so much information about his life and it was disconcerting to him to say the least. But he did not feel the need to barge into her mind to find out all that she knew. He was not only out of practice breaking into other's minds, but he did not really want to scare her away. She had been the only person in a long time that had been kind to him with nothing to gain and nearly everything to lose for being kind. He did not want to break whatever confidence she had in him, no matter how misplaced he felt that it was.

They soon feel into a pattern of sorts. She would be in the library before him, sitting next to the window reading something or another, warming herself almost like a cat in the sunshine. He would stalk through the shelves looking through the books to find something that would strike his fancy, but he didn't find what he was looking for most of the time and would settle with a Potion's theory book. One day her voice rang out through the library.

"Are you looking for something in particular Professor?" She asked him.

"Why do you ask?" He asked with a cold voice, but it did not bite out at her like he normally did.

"You have been glaring at that particular bookshelf for that last twenty minutes as if it has offended you and have done the same thing for the last three days. You have also picked up the same book and read it cover to cover every day in as many days." She told him with a slight smile. "Perhaps I could help you find what you are looking for." He gave a snort while still glaring at the shelf, as if staring at it long enough would make it produce the book he wanted. "Well perhaps you would like to read this." She held out a slim leather bound tome to him that she slid from the stack beside her. "I trust that it will prove to be interesting."

"I can assure you that your version of interesting and mine are very different." He told her coldly. He turned from the shelf and looked at her critically and then caught sight of the book she held, _The Phoenix and Their Keepers__, _as compiled by Sherry Blackwater. The very book he had spent the last few days looking for.

"Don't be too quick to judge me or my interests." She told him, looking into his face for a brief moment before she released the book into his grasp. Then she turned back to her book. "And you don't have to sit so far away, I really don't bite." She told him after a moment of him standing beside her in apparent shock. "Besides, a little sun would do you some good." He scoffed at this but he did cross over to the other side of the big table and begin to read the book. The rest of the afternoon was spent in quiet companionship with each other and the literature.

**A/N: so, things seem to be going swimmingly at Hogwarts, well at least for the four that are on the grounds. Things are beginning to get routine, that can only mean that as a writer I must cue 'the mixer please' or perhaps a shoe to throw into the cogs of this 'fine tuned machine'. *grin maniacally* Hope you liked the chapter, I'll post then next chapter soon.- Dragon's Quill**


	22. I Love Lucy

**A/N: ok guys I would like to say a special thank you to booalvague, Heidi191976, notwritten and skydancinghobbit (my beta) for reviewing. Ok, here is the next chapter.**

_I love Lucy (22)_

Three weeks after Hermione had provided Snape with the book he had been looking for she received an owl late at night. Taking the letter the he carried she gave the bird and owl treat and then let him go. She was surprised that what he had carried was not a scroll like she normally got, but a muggle letter. She still got a few periodicals from the muggle world, but there was no one she could think of that would be writing her. Opening it she found that it was from the horse farm where she had gotten Prince.

August 19th

Dear Hermione,

I hope that everything is going well with your new job and that you are happy. I have written to inform, you as you had requested as you left, that we have another horse that requires an extreme amount of TLC. One of the weanlings was found yesterday lying in the pasture unable to stand. Upon further inspection it was found that she has a broken femur. It is unclear exactly how it happened, but it is suspected she was kicked. She is a beautiful filly and I would hate to have to euthanize her if you could in fact save her as you did with Prince.

She also comes from a strong pedigree and might do well as a broodmare in the future, if she could be saved. We do not have the resources or the time it would take to save and rehabilitate her. Please respond to this letter by August 25th if you will take her. After that I will euthanize her to put her out of her pain. As it is she is heavily sedated to keep her down and from injuring herself anymore. If you are able to take her it is requested that you pay $900 for her to cover the projected vet bills.

Sincerely,

Jacob Miller

Owner, Operator, Manager

Even though it was late, nearly eleven thirty, Hermione flew to her hearth and lit it, Flooing Minerva in her office. Normally she would have waited until the next morning, but as the day was the 24th she felt that it was necessary to talk to her at once. Nearly an hour later she was found back in her room and getting ready for the next day before she went to sleep.

It was an hour after sunrise when both Hermione and McGonagall left the school grounds in a flurry of activity that went totally unnoticed by Severus. He had refrained from taking his breakfasts with the woman, ever, and had instead spent his mornings and early afternoons doing whatever Potions Masters did in the dungeons. He would reserve his afternoons to spend in the library to sit across the table from Hermione and read whatever he chose. He found it was surprisingly both comforting and pleasant to spend the afternoons in this manner, though he would be hard pressed to admit it. The only thing he noticed that was different about his morning was the fact Minerva had left him a note saying that she was going out until later that evening and he would be in charge until she returned. Shrugging it off, he went about his business for the day.

Hermione and McGonagall appropriated to the woods where they had brought Prince to and then hurried along the path towards the barn. They had discussed what was going to happen the night before and both were keen on getting it done. When they got to the barn Hermione lead Minerva straight to the office and to Jacob.

"Hello," she said as she entered the office where Jacob was looking through his filing cabinet. "I have come to collect the horse and to pay you what you wanted." She said without much of an introduction.

"Oh my." He said rather surprised to see her standing in his office so early in the morning. "I would have thought you would have called before you came."

"I only got your letter last night." She told him. "I figured that you would have put her down long before I was able to contact you. So I came myself." Hermione told him. "I have $900 in cash, as you requested."

"Aren't you even interested in seeing how bad off she is. I have had her on IVs for the last week, keeping her alive and sedated. I have had more than one person tell me I am crazy for doing it. Yet I thought that if you could make little Prince want to live you might be able to help her." He told her.

"I will see her when I get her loaded on to the trailer." She told him. "For now I would like to complete the paperwork and the bill of sale." Hermione told him. "Which filly is it that I am buying?"

"All right." He said a bit taken aback by her convictions. "You are buying _I Love Lucy_, the beautiful chestnut with a snip and diagonal white socks."

"Yes I remember her, quite a bit of spunk, likely to be herd leader and quite a prospect for jumping." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"_Was_ a prospect for jumping; now I am hoping you can at least get her back on her feet enough so she can be a broodmare in a few years. She would have been a great jumper." He said sadly, and then he rummaged through the filing cabinet again and brought out her folder.

Within a half an hour the transaction was complete and Hermione now owned a currently crippled horse for not much more than the current vet bill. Minerva had stayed quiet and sat quietly in a chair in the corner throughout the transaction, her part would come later.

"Well here is all you paperwork." Jacobs said and handed her, the folder to her new horse. "Now what is it that you want to do with her?"

"We will take it from here. We can get her onto the trailer ourselves." Hermione told him, hoping that he would take the hint and sit tight while Minerva and she took away the horse as they saw fit.

"Nonsense, she is nearly eight hundred pounds of near dead weight, there is no way the two of you can move her." He said totally missing the hint. "Besides what type of gentleman would I be to let two lovely women as yourselves do all the work?"

'The kind of gentleman that doesn't need to beobliviated.' Hermione thought but said. "I understand, but it really isn't necessary, seriously."

"I insist." He said.

"Fine." She relented. "Lead the way." She stood to follow him and Minerva stood as well. She came up behind him as he stood and hit him with a stunning spell that paralyzed him where he stood and his eyes went unfocused.

Minerva stepped around to him and gently guided him to his seat and set him down. Hermione left the office and let Minerva do what she had to. Minerva stood behind his chair and whispered into his ear, his eyes still unfocused. "You helped us load her onto the trailer early this morning and then we left. You will remember we did all the paperwork before hand." She stepped back from his chair muttered another charm to lift the spell induced trance and then apparated immediately afterWards with a soft pop. Jacobs shook his head and looked around as if he was almost confused. Then noticing the folder on his desk he went and filed it away content in the knowledge that the filly was in capable hands.

Hermione was grateful that they had come as early as they had. Jacobs had a tendency to be at the barn doing paperwork and alike long before anyone else was there to take care of the horses. She quickly located the stall with the sickly young filly. She was saddened to see the state that the young creature was it. She had been dragged in on a tarp and her leg was stabilized as best that could be managed. She lay on her side almost as if she was dead. A portion of her neck was shaved where an IV line was stuck into her jugular and a bag of fluids hung from the bars of the stall above her. Quickly looking over the bag she saw that it was sugar water and electrolytes.

She took the bag down but did not disconnect it, laying it on the horse's side. Then she took a large handkerchief from her pocket and tied it over the horse's eyes to blind her so she couldn't see what was going on, she didn't want a repeat of Prince's reaction. Hermione then gathered together the four corners of the tarp and wrapped the horse up the best that she could. Knelling beside the filly and taking her head into her lap Hermione cradled and grasped as much of the horse as she could hold and with wand in hand apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.

Minerva stood rather rigidly and worriedly at the school gates. She opened the gates so that Hermione could get in, but she still hated waiting in suspense. After a few minutes of agonizing waiting she was reWarded by a loud pop and Hermione nearly lying over a blue bundle appeared in front of the gates.

"I am so glad, are you ok?!" Minerva said almost breathlessly with relief. "I was starting to get worried."

"I am fine Minerva." Hermione said gulping for air and feeling totally drained and exhausted, apparating herself and the filly so far unscathed had been more work than she had anticipated. And while she was a powerful witch she was still young and she was still growing in power, testing her own limits to find where they were and how far she could push the envelope. "I am just a bit tired; perhaps we could sit here for a minute or two. She still was lying over the little horse that had showed little to no response besides breathing since she had seen her.

"Yes, of course, would you like me to levitate her to the stables?" She asked coming to sit by her on the ground. "Poor little thing." she said reaching out to gently stroke the filly's velvety nose.

"That would be good, I have to do some diagnostic spells to find out if there is anything else wrong with her, and then I have to do what I can for her leg. I will probably have to go and brew a Potion as well to help her out. But I must do some research before I can."

"Severus is a Potions Master, he should be able to help you." Minerva offered up.

"We have only recently come to a truce where he hasn't acted as if I were his student anymore, or at least not as often. I don't want encroach into his personal time and instigate his wrath. It is a powerful thing and I am too tired to do much against him."

"Oh well then fine, but you must promise me you will ask him if you can't find anything quickly. The drugs this little creature is on will most likely wear off soon. You will have to find some way to keep her quiet for the next couple of days."

"I will put her on a muscle relaxer and perhaps a sleeping draught as well." Hermione offered. "I will have to see how badly her femur is broken and I will likely have to put her on something to boost her immunity for the next couple months while her body regains its strength. I am hoping she can still have some sort of a career as something other than a broodmare."

"That sounds good, but I really am not sure what could or should be used on a horse, you really should talk to Severus for information concerning Potions." Minerva told her. "Well should we start off and get going then? We don't know when the last dose of tranquilizer was given so I should think we should get her to a stall before she wakes up." Hermione nodded and stumbled tiredly to her feet and pointed her wand at the horse. "I will do that," Minerva said. "You save your energy for later when you will need it to diagnose exactly what is wrong with your new horse. I will get her to the stables safety." Hermione just nodded, knowing she was right.

It took nearly an hour to get the filly to the stables and settled down into a stall. She was still unconscious and had the handkerchief tied over her eyes to help keep her calm when she did come around. It was about nine in the morning by this time and neither had had anything to eat. Summoning a house elf, Minerva requested that there be something brought down from the castle to the stables so they could rest and eat. Within fifteen minutes a tray appeared in the stable hallway with steaming mugs of coffee and hearty roast beef sandwiches with potato chips to go with them. After eating they both felt better and Hermione felt as if she would be able to run the appropriate diagnostics on the filly. They had no other choice about halfway through their meal, but to cast a stunner on the poor creature as she was beginning to come around out of the anesthesia. They would not revive her until after they had finished fixing her up. They had left the IV of food in her neck and let it continue to drain, feeding her while she slept.

Hermione knelt beside the small horse and began to cast various diagnostic spells. To her relief there was nothing but the broken femur to deal with. But oh what a mess that was. It was not a simple fracture that could be mended with a few spells and some strengthening Potions, no this was a fracture that had turned a section of the bone into innumerable chips, and this was going to be a challenge. Carefully searching out each bone chip she began to banish them so that the section that had shattered was completely gone, leaving an area where part of the shaft of the femur should have been, vacant of bone. She knew she would have to brew some type of bone re-growth formula to fix that, as well as a muscle relaxer to let the tension go so that things could correctly reattach.

It was the middle of the afternoon when she had finally finished removing all of he bone chips from the damaged leg. Minerva had gone back to the castle after brunch to do whatever she did in the afternoons and had left Hermione alone. Then she made her way up to the castle and to the dungeons with the intention of brewing a pep-up Potion and then moving onto the more difficult bone re-growth Potion, which she would research while the pep-up Potion took the time to simmer for three hours. She made her way to the Potions classroom and brought out three cauldrons. One for the muscle relaxant, one for the pep-up Potion and one for the bone re-growth Potion. She began to collect the ingredients for the pep-up Potion and bring them over to one of the desks and then began to prepare the pep-up Potion.

Snape had thought nothing of the note he had received with breakfast that morning. It wasn't like there was anyone to really look after while Minerva was away. There were four people on the grounds including himself and each was quite capable of taking care of themselves. The first inclination that something in his well organized world that was different, came when Hermione's seat was vacant by the window. He thought little of it at first though, as she would often get up and wondered around in search of another book, despite the perpetual pile beside her seat.

After about a half hour he became restless with the fact that she had not returned to her seat and went in search of her. After searching the whole library thoroughly and finding no sign of her, he became rather agitated. He would not admit to himself that he was worried about what might have happened to her or perhaps a little irked that she had chosen not to inform him of her absence. 'It's not like she has to report to you.' The little voice in his head told him. 'You aren't her Professor or anything else. You don't get notified.'

Wondering if Minerva would know anything about her whereabouts he went down towards the Headmistress's Office, but about halfway there he remembered that Minerva was out for the day. If she had returned she would have informed him. What he didn't know was that there was in fact a note to that effect sitting next to his fireplace where it had been Flooed to him. So instead he went to Hermione's room. He assumed that it would have been Minerva's old rooms. He had been right, he could tell by detecting that there were Wards surrounding the door. Perhaps Hermione was in her rooms. After knocking and getting no response he became rather worried, he wasn't quite sure how to precede form here. There was really no other place for her to be. She would have to be in her rooms or in the library. Normally he would have assumed she was with Minerva, but she had not been mentioned in the note.

In hindsight he realized it had been a bad idea, but you know what they say about hindsight. Deciding that he was going to at least make sure that she was alright, from a purely administrative point of view of course, he was going to break into her rooms. He carefully felt out her Wards that protected the door, they didn't seem very strong. Some simple locking and repelling charms for those that chose to try to break in; though they had been cast with power, he could feel that. She was a bright and powerful young witch after all. Casting a few powerful unlocking and breaking charms at the Wards that he was sure would overwhelm them he was shocked to find himself lying on his back five feet away staring at the ceiling.

"What the...?" He asked in utter confusion, shock and almost horror. How in the world had he ended up across the hall? Picking himself carefully off the cold stone floor he prodded at the Wards with his wand, trying to decide what had happened. Unable to 'feel out' what he had come up against he decided to go with a different approach. He cast another spell that revealed the invisible Wards and made them visible to the naked eye and what he saw astonished him.

Her door was Warded with multiple, extremely powerful and extremely complex Wards, a couple of which he had never seen before. The Wards were for deflection, confusion, and strength as well as camouflage. The Wards would reflect any attempt at breaking them down back at the caster in an equal if not greater force. The Wards were designed to portray a low key and simple Ward, but they hid something far more potent than what they betrayed. He had seen few that could have wielded the power to harness such advanced and powerful, nearly equal or higher than Death Eater powerful Wards and to weave them together in such a manner as to fool even him. The Wards were a beautiful mix of swirling colors and pulsating hues around the door, almost like the patterns of oil in a puddle. The beauty, skill and power swirling around the door were something he had not seen in a long time, if ever.

He had always fancied himself one of the best at making Wards that kept people away and out, but it seemed he may have been outdone. Somehow she had managed to bring together the isolationist ideals and paranoia that had driven him to the extreme Wards on his door with an almost welcoming and non threatening manner. The door could be approached by anyone and the Wards would allow anyone to knock on the door and ask for entrance, but the moment someone tried to barge their way it they were driven back. He wondered for a moment what it would take to begin to unraveling the Wards, but he put that aside as far to dangerous and energy consuming for him to do that, at least right now.

Fine, if she didn't want to see him, he mused, and then he would not bother with her anymore, though the truth was that he had missed her company for the afternoon. Stalking his way back down towards his rooms in the dungeons, after casting the counter spell to make the Wards become invisible, he wandered past the Potion's classroom. To his astonishment he heard movement and there was light form below the door. Crossing over to the door he opened it quietly and stared at what he saw. At one of the desks stood Hermione in muggle clothing and her hair piled on top of her head with her wand sticking out of her hair at an odd angle holding it up, she hadn't noticed him yet. She had her back turned towards the door as she added a final ingredient to the cauldron and stirred it in. Then walked to his desk, opened a drawer put something in it and muttered a spell he could not hear.

"What do you think you are doing in my desk Miss Granger?" He asked sternly, not welcoming people poking around in his personal things, though admittedly he had not moved back into his desk yet. He inWardly smiled as she just about jumped out of her skin as she turned around.

"Oh geeze Professor!" She gasped clutching her chest. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that. You are liable to give someone a heart attack or yourself hexed!"

"That is not the answer to the question I asked." His voice had a hint of venom in it. He was irritated by the fact she was in his desk, she had not shown up in the library like usual, she very well may have up staged him with her Wards and she was brewing in his classroom without his knowledge or consent.

"Well in all fairness Sir, you have not used this desk in almost three years, besides I figured you would prefer that I use the desk rather than trying to break into the Potions vault to store my things there. I have no desire to break into the rooms of other people because I can."

"How very Gryffindor of you." He scoffed, but his mind was racing. 'Did she know that he had been attacking and trying to figure out her Wards?' "What are you making this time of day?"

"Currently a pep-up Potion, one with Phoenix tears." She told him crossing over to the cauldron that was sitting and cooling. "I needed some. But I have to go and do some more research on bone re-growth Potions and muscle relaxers for horses."

"Why for horses?" He asked almost suspiciously, but his curiosity coming through none the less.

"Because I need to replace a broken leg on a horse. I will relax the muscles before I begin to grow bones and repair the break. Hopefully in the morning with some pep-up Potion she will be back on her feet."

"And where were you going to do this research?" He asked.

"I was hoping that the library had something I needed, but I was going to ask you if I couldn't find anything after that." She told him with a hint of caution.

"And why didn't you ask me first, since I am a Potion's Master?" He asked sternly.

"I did not want to trouble you with too many questions. I figured that you had more important things to do with your time." She said almost sheepishly. He merely scoffed at this. Taking this as a good sign in her favor she hazarded her next question. "Well since you are here, do you know if there are any differences between a human and a horse version of the bone re-growth or muscle relaxer Potions?"

"There are differences in the bone re-growth Potion, but there are none in the muscle relaxer." He told her, slipping back into a teaching voice and stance.

"Well that is good, I will only have to worry about one then." She said with a sigh and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. "I guess I should get started then. Do you know where I can find recipes for the two Potions?"

"You intend to make both Potions tonight Miss Granger?" He asked sternly. "You are tired and should not be working with Potions when you are in such a state, it is far too dangerous. You should know that, as well as what happens if you aren't careful. After all you sat next to Longbottom for your lessons."

"I don't have much choice Sir." She retorted. "And don't call me Miss Granger; it makes me feel like I'm a student again. Call me Hermione, that is my name, we are going to both be Professors after all."

"You are a student still, I have the knowledge you want and if I am willing to teach it to you, that would mean I am still the teacher and you the student." He said coldly, almost like he was sizing her up to do battle.

"I am no longer one of the students that you can bully around and take House Points from." She told him. "I am a fellow staff member and should be treated with respect like any other adult. The power that you do have does not scare me, because I still trust you, despite your horrible attitude. Yet, while you do have the knowledge that I would like, I know I can find it else where if you choose to be arrogant about it." She told him with a flash of anger in her eyes, though dampened by her fatigue.

"But you need the Potion tonight I believe." He intoned with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"True enough, but I can make due without your help if you're going to be egotistical about it all." She told him with a scowl.

He returned her dark look with one of his own. He drew his wand from his sleeve and flicked it in the direction of the chalkboard. Two recipes appeared on it and then he stepped over to one of the cauldrons to begin setting up a workstation for himself.

"What exactly are you doing?" She asked in astonishment.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked testily.

"But why are you helping me? I thought you wanted nothing to do with this." She gaped.

"As much as I would like to see you stew in your own problem," He told her sternly, but not looking up from where he was beginning to dice lacewings. "I have a stronger desire for there not to be an explosion in my classroom tonight; bone re-growth Potion is a very delicate operation and must be done with utmost attention to detail. In your exhausted state you would most likely blow yourself up. I have no desire to have to clean the classroom before I move back into it. And I am quite sure Minerva would not be happy with me for allowing her apprentice blow herself up, as well as the fact I don't want all the paperwork that will likely accompany such an event." Hermione didn't move from shock. "Well, are you just going to stand there or get your Potion done? I thought you needed these tonight."

"Yes… yes sir." She said snapping out of her shock and going to collect the rest of the ingredients needed for both Potions.

**A/N: ok, yes I know that I stretched the abilities of what the horse can deal with or can do. hope you guys like the chapter.**

**I was getting some flack from some of you about requesting to have reviews, well last chapter I didn't request reviews and I got lots and lots of hits and no reviews. so I am going to go back to asking for reviews. so guys I would like to have 5 more reviews before I post again. it not only gives me a set time, that I have to reformat a chapter, but it also is nice to see that people like my story. I can see you guys are reading it, but it is really nice to know what you are thinking. have fun in fan fic land- Dragons Quill**


	23. On Raven's Wings

**A/N: thanks to everyone who has reviewed and oscarxena- you make a good point but its nice to know that people still love the story, or hate it, or whatever. I think of reviews as an audience thermometer, do I write things that people want to read or not. Ok well on to the chapter.**

_On Raven's Wings (23)_

Severus and Hermione worked silently side by side, each over their respective cauldrons for the next few hours, each absorbed in their own work and thoughts.

Severus had always been one to brew alone, locked away in his private lab and did not take kindly to the idea of having someone else around to ask questions and distract him from the task at hand. However to his surprise he found that brewing alongside Hermione was not only possible, but enjoyable. She was a quiet companion as compared to her time in his class and brewed with skill and prowess. He wondered vaguely why she did not become a Potions Mistress instead of going into Transfigurations; she was certainly qualified for Potions.

He hazarded a few glances at her while he was waiting for ingredients to steep. She wore lace up ridding boots, a pair of clingy faded blue jeans, and shirt that was loose, but still hugged her in all the right places. He had not seen her in anything but her school robes and the teaching robes she had worn around the school so far. His earlier assessment of how she would grow up was correct. She was a rare combination of intelligence, wit, skill, power and awesome beauty. She was what any wizard could want; she was the complete balance of everything that was good about a woman. She was everything he had wished to find in a woman and something he could never have. He would always be nothing more to her than the greasy git of an ex-professor.

'_She is your colleague at Hogwarts, very nearly your equal. She sought you out while you were in Azkaban and stood for you in court._' The little voice in his head told him.

'That doesn't change the past, that does not change the animosity that has already passed between us. It does not change what she thinks of me.' He told the voice. He turned back to his cauldron and let his hair fall down in front of his face to hide her from his view as to stop torturing himself.

Hermione for her part was surprised by his willingness to brew in the same room as her. She assumed that he would want to be left alone, but then he had been coming every afternoon to the library to sit with her and read. She attributed it to the fact that he had been denied human contact for nearly nine months and then his self isolation from nearly everyone, for who knows how long before and after he killed Dumbledore. She looked over at him while she set her cauldron to a slow simmer for an hour.

She had always respected him and that had only grown when she had found out what he was doing for the War effort. Her respect grew further after sorting through her feelings concerning the pensieves that she had viewed. She did not think that he knew that she had done so, and she wanted it to stay that way for a time. He did not need to know that she knew things about him that he would probably want to keep secret. She would not break confidence with him whether he knew she held it or not. And she most definitely would not use what she knew against him, that would be unforgivable.

She was nearly transfixed by the methodical and graceful motions. Every movement he made had a purpose; no energy was lost to an unneeded motion. It struck her almost as odd in thinking that she had never actually seen him brew a Potion before. He was a Potions Master after all and the Potions Teacher too. But in all her years around him she had actually never seen him brew a Potion, he had always been locked away somewhere else when he did. With appreciation she watched a Master at work.

For such a private and withdrawn man Potions was really the field for him, as it required long hours locked away with need for concentration without distractions; only to emerge with the result and have no questions asked about the procedure. As long as the Potion did what it was suppose to do, there were no questions, no problems. She really thought it was a pity though, that such prowess should be hidden; he really did make the art of Potions into something akin to a dance or fine painting.

With a small sigh she turned back to her cauldron and sorted through the next ingredients that would have to be added. She had seen more sides of the man beside her in the pensieves and now her respect and curiosity were going to get the best of her. She wanted to know more about him, on a more personal level, but she knew that he would never go for that. She would forever be the bushy haired know it all student to him.

It was about dusk when both the Potions were brewed and bottled. Severus had made sure that the entire muscle relaxer Potion had been bottled and labeled so that it could be used for the Hospital Wing in the next year. Upon completion of the bone re-growth Potion he let it cool.

"How big is the horse you are going to be giving this to Miss Granger, and what is its injury?" He asked.

"You can call me Hermione you know." She told him again. "And the horse I am giving it to is a weanling, almost a year old, perhaps eight or nine hundred pounds and her femur was shattered earlier this week. I only just learned of it and retrieved her today. I removed all of the shards earlier today and now a good portion of her femur's shaft is gone."

"You know those advanced healing spells?" He asked with a hint of surprise as he doled out enough Potion into a vial. "I was under the belief that such things were not taught here at Hogwarts, but you did always have your nose in a book."

"They aren't taught here. I learned them on my own and from others during the War." She told him with just a slight shutter at the mention of the War. "They are not easy to learn and it has taken quite a bit of my strength to actually perform the spells. That is why I am so tired." She said with a light sigh.

"Here is your Potion Hermione, you will need to make sure your animal gets all of it. You may want to stay with her; it will be a long night for the both of you." He told her, his voice was cool, but it did not have a bite to it, almost like he was at ease, which seemed almost out of place, he held out the vial to her.

"Thank you Sir, I really appreciate this." She said taking the vial from him with a smile. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Just go," he said with a soft gravel of a growl in his voice. "I will clean up here, your horse will need to have her leg repaired as soon as possible, the longer you stay here the harder it will be on her." He let go of the vial as she took it and gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Are you sure?" She asked almost apprehensively, he had always stressed to the students to clean up after they were done brewing and never leave ingredients unattended. What he was telling her to do was against almost everything he had taught her, she wasn't quite sure what to do about this. Was it a test? "You always taug-"

"Yes I know what I am telling you to do is not what I taught you to do." He interrupted her coolly, though still inexplicably without the usual bite. "But like I just said, the sooner you get that Potion into your horse the better it will be, especially after so long already. I can clean things up here just fine; I am a Potions Master after all." He told her with a stern edge creeping into his voice. "Just go and administer the Potions now, don't make me tell you twice."

"Yes sir, thank you so much Professor. I will find a way to pay you back for all you have done for me." She said with a genuine smile. She quickly gathered the Potions she needed and headed for the door. Severus watched her go, keeping his face impassive, but just as she was reaching for the door he spoke again.

"You can call me Severus, Hermione." He said, his voice once again loosing its hardness and turning to a velvet baritone. She turned back to face him across the room, the surprise apparent on her face. "We are going to be colleagues here at Hogwarts after all. We don't need to uphold titles when not in front of the students, the teachers are, or were, on a first name basis. We are both on staff here now, so it is appropriate." The look of surprise deepened to shock, he let her stand there for a moment, enjoying the fact he had rendered her speechless, but keeping his face impassive. "Well don't just stand their looking like and idiot, go administer the Potions." He told her allowing his voice to harden again. She shut her mouth with a nearly audible click of teeth, but the look of shock did not leave her face. She turned silently to the door and left, closing it behind her with a soft click.

He turned back to the cauldron in front of him and began to save back more of the Potion than he had let on. He ladled it into vials, labeled it and then with a wave of his wand banished the rest. He quickly cleaned up the remainder of the ingredients and put them away where they belonged. With a quick wave of his wand the lights were extinguished and the door locked. He hurried with the vials of Potion back to his rooms and stashed them in his personal vault with the rest of his Potions that were not accessible to the other teachers and students. Telling Fawkes he would be away for part if not all the night, he exited out of his private rooms through a secret passage that had served him well through the years of the War. It came out in a grove of trees near the lake. He decided that he wanted to spend some more time with her, now that he realized how much he had missed her company earlier in the day.

The sun was almost set when he made it to the grove of trees. Drawing himself back into the shadows and melting into them with his black robes, he changed into his animagi form and flapped his way towards the stables. He quickly caught up to Hermione as she was making her way across the grounds to the stables. He was an unregistered animagi and had used that to his advantage during the War. Only a few people had known of his abilities and nearly all of them were now dead, with the exception of Minerva who had helped him learn to transform. He felt secure in the knowledge that Hermione did not know, though it still disquieted him that she had know about his torture under Voldemort. He really wanted to find out how she had known.

He soared into the barn just ahead of her and alighted onto one of the large exposed wooden beams over the center isle way of the barn. He saw that she had changed from the time that he had seen her last. She now wore what appeared to be a light set of robes over her muggle clothing and pulled a bag out of her pocket which she enlarged. She walked into a stall near the middle of the barn and left the door open about two feet. He glided down to the isle way and hopped over so he could see through the door. She had removed a pair of blankets and a pillow from her pack as well as the Potions they had made earlier.

In the stall lay a young chestnut horse that looked nearly dead, save the rise and fall of its ribcage. There was a strange bag attached to the wall above the horse that had a tube that ran down to the horse's neck. He had no idea what it was or meant to do, but she obviously did. He saw as she reached out and drew the tube away from the horse's neck and heard her mutter a healing spell. Then she spread one of the blankets out over the horse, careful not to disturb the bracing that held her left leg straight and in the air, he could only assume that was the shattered leg. Then she spread the other blanket out beside the horse's back and neck. She had set the bag within easy reach near the horse's head and then sat down with the pillow beside her. Cradling the animal's head in her lap, she took the vial with the muscle relaxer and transformed the vial into a syringe, which was a foreign object to Severus. Then she gently coaxed the syringe into the horse's mouth and as far back as she could manage. Severus hopped closer to get a better look at what she was doing.

"Come on Lucy." She whispered softly. "You have to take this, it will help." She stroked the horse's throat and he watched as the horse swallowed reflexively. She then took the syringe out of the horse's mouth and proceeded to do the same thing with the bone re-growth Potion. Once she had managed to coax the Potions into the horse she gave a sigh and gently stroked the horse's head.

"I wonder how long it will take to work?" She asked no one in particular after easing the horse's head back down beside her. Then she turned back to her bag and drew out a bottle of pumpkin juice and what appeared to be two or three sandwiches. At about this time Severus was reminded that he had yet to eat any dinner. With a sigh she unwrapped her sandwich and glanced out of the open door.

"Hello there raven." She said kindly looking at him. "I'm surprised you are out and about so late. It is a bit dark for one such as yourself to be flying around. You don't need to break your little birdie neck in the dark. I won't hurt you if you come closer." She smiled encouragingly at him as he looked at her inquisitively. He was not quite sure what he was going to do now that he had been seen. Normally he would have hid in the shadows, but in his curiosity he had been careless.

"I could surely do with some company. The Professor, no, Severus, said it was going to be a long night." She gave a small smile when she said his name and briefly closed her eyes. This was something new to him. No one, especially not a woman, had ever smiled while uttering his name or ever said his name with such a soft touch, as if she were savoring the word. He was transfixed with shock and amazement at her reaction to his name. Almost involuntarily he hopped forward towards the door of the stall. He was a good ten feet away from her as she sat in the far corner from the door. The horse took up most of the center of the stall, spread out with its head in the far corner. He knew that she wouldn't hurt him, but he was still uncertain about this interaction.

"I will even share some of my sandwiches with you." She offered, pulling part of the filling out of her sandwich to show him, roast beef something he had always enjoyed. "The house elves were once again overly generous and I have more than enough for the both of us." He eyed the food in her hand hungrily, reminded again of his lack of a proper meal. She watched his rapt attention on the food with a smile. "Here you go." She said tossing the piece of meat in his direction. He shot forward and grabbed the piece of meat before it fell to the ground and then gulped it down. He was now merely six feet from her, standing in the shavings of the stall. Under normal circumstances he would have never come this close to anyone in his animagi form for fear of being discovered.

"Well I'm glad you chose to join me," she gave a light laugh as he gave the best bird scowl he could manage, believing she was laughing at him. "Though I must admit I did seem to bribe you." She tore another piece of beef from her sandwich and tossed it towards him. He caught it expertly out of the air.

"Well maybe you will stick around for a bit." She said almost wishfully as she took a bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully while looking at the bird in front of her. "I really could use someone to talk to, even if you're a bird. That way no one can say I talk to myself in public." She smiled at her own joke. He cocked his head to the side inquisitively. He didn't know what she would want to talk about; she had been sequestered at the school with minimal contact to the outside world all summer. He gave an encouraging caw.

Hermione regarded the bird that stood outside the stall door and watched as it had streaked ahead to grab the food. The bird moved with uncommon grace and speed for a bird, but her tired mind did not think much of it at the time. She was just happy with some lucid companionship while she waited for the Potions to take effect on Lucy. Chewing she regarded the bird and decided he wasn't going anywhere for a while. She threw him another piece of meat.

"So many things have changed since I got back to the Wizarding World." She sighed. "I don't quite know how to deal with it all and least of all how to deal with or around Snape." She lightly shook her head. "He is a study in contrasts; black hair, eyes and robes, alabaster skin and a voice that can carry a blade edge, but seemed almost kind not a few hours ago. He is always so brooding and antisocial, but then again, he comes and willingly sits near me every day in the library of his own accord. I guess that could be explained away by the fact he has been in solitary confinement for nearly a year and wants to get out of his dungeons for a while. I certainly can't blame him. But that he has willingly sat near me every day since I invited him without any real scathing comments is almost baffling. He seems to be relaxed while he is there, but when he interacts with me it is usually so cold and almost like he is forced to. Not that it is any different than when I was a student, but I wish he wasn't quite so bitter. Then again, he willingly interacted with me tonight and has now allowed me to address him using his first name, which I did not expect him to ever do willingly. Yet, the problem is though I can see why he seems so bitter and angry." The bird gave a snorting caw at this. How could she possibly know of how he had suffered, cause him to be so withdrawn? Hermione regarded the bird carefully and then threw him another piece of meat.

"I really do." She told him. "He was instrumental in the fight against Voldemort and he was in constant danger. He risked his life daily for the Wizarding World to preserve it. What thanks does he get for it, but to be thrown in Azkaban for nearly a year?" She shook her head. "I may not know of how he grew up, beyond what Harry told me he saw in a pensieve, but I can only guess it was not the nicest of upbringings." That was the understatement of the year in his opinion. "When all one has ever experienced is people hating you it is easy to see why he would be bitter and let it taint everything else." She sighed with a shake of her head.

"I guess the only thing not touched with his bitterness is his brewing. He is a whole other person when he brews. I saw it tonight. He helped me, willingly, make the Potions for Lucy and then he sent me here to give them without cleaning up. Both of which I can assure you were completely unexpected and astonishing. I have never seen him brew with anyone or let them leave Potion ingredients unattended. I was sorely tempted to ask him who he was and what he had done with the real Professor. Maybe I should brew some polyjuice antidote and slip it to him just in case." She mused with a small smile. "But then again I don't know how I would deal with the wrath that would surely come upon me if I did." She was very wise he thought, he would have not taken kindly to such an action.

"It seems as though he has come to an uneasy truce with my presence and I don't want to break that. I know that there is more to him that initially meets the eye and I would like to know more and get to know him better. He may do really well of convincing everyone that he is a bastard most of the time, but I know that there is more than that. If he really was the bastard he portrays, then he would not have been a spy for the Light. He may have killed Dumbledore, but I know that he had little choice in that matter. I just wish others would see that and not be out for blood."

How did she know this? He wondered, there was more to this conversation than what was being said. He wondered briefly if he could use Legilimency on her while a bird. But he remembered that she had told him she knew Occlumency in return. She would feel the intrusion into her mind and being the smart witch that she was, surmise what, if not who he was.

"Well I guess I should get some sleep while I can." She said after a few minutes of assessing the bird and finishing her sandwich, throwing him a few more pieces of meat. "I don't know how long I will have until all the Potions take effect, or how they will affect her. You can hang around if you want." She told him. "I doubt that you will be able to see anything if you tired to fly someplace tonight." She lay down beside the little horse with her hand lightly stroking her neck, snuggling up next to her back and mane. "Have a good night raven." She murmured and with a wave of her wand the light outside the stall was snuffed out, throwing the stall into darkness. Only one candle burned in the entire barn at one end.

He was not quite sure what to do. He was in a stall, as a bird, with Hermione Granger and her horse. He assumed that it was the horse that she had originally come to him about. He also knew that he should probably have left already, but she did have a point. It was dark and it would be difficult for him to get back to the trees and out of sight before he could change back into himself. He knew that he was only making excuses for why he shouldn't leave, but he was still intrigued by what she had just said. She definitely knew more than what she had said and was obviously not going to tell him, or the bird he was.

He debated for a brief moment what he was to do. He could risk his neck going out into the night and then making his way back to the castle, or he could stay here in the barn and 'protect' Hermione and her horse. Well, maybe protect was a strong word, considering he was a pound, tops, but he could at least sound some type of alarm. There was no telling what might wander through the stables at night… right? Settling down near the stall door he tucked his head beneath his wing and tried to get some sleep before the Potion woke up both the horse and Hermione.

**A/N: well I hope you all liked the chapter. I would like to have 5 reviews please. Next chapter we deal with the fact summer is drawing to a close and school is going to start up again. Can't wait to see Severus' face when he meets the new teachers *teehee, teehee***


	24. The Lab

**A/N: wow thanks you guys for all those lovely reviews. I am just blown away by how fast they came in. when I checked last night before I went to sleep I had 4 I wake up in the morning and found I had 10. did I tell you all how much I love you all? ok well here is the next chapter. **

_The Lab (24)_

It was two weeks before the students returned and a week after Hermione had gotten Lucy, that the new teachers began to move into the castle. The sudden population explosion and subsequent mingling soon drove Severus back to his dungeons and labs in search of some peace and quiet. He didn't even ask many questions as to who all the new teachers were going to be, he figured that if Hermione had helped that he truly did not want to know. In all truthfulness, he was right; he really did not want to know who he was now going to be forced to interact with, for lack of any other semi-intelligent life forms nearby. One week before the castle was to become infected with small children again he was forced to go to the Great Hall for meals, the house elves having been told to all but starve him out if he didn't comply.

Upon walking into the Great Hall early one morning he was forced to view the whole assembly of teachers, well if that is what they could be called. McGonagall sat in the Headmistress's seat as she now had that position. He was now forced to sit to her left as been her customary seat when Dumbledore was alive, as he was now the Deputy Headmaster. He would no longer be able to sit quietly and rather unobtrusively at one end of the table in the shadows. To his left he was to sit next to Hermione, which he was not totally agreeable with as she tended to be far too cheerful, especially this early in the morning. Though, he had to admit that who he was sitting next to could have been far worse. This was because of the presence of some of his most loathed students, now somehow achieving teacher-hood.

Ginny Weasley sat on Minerva's right side with the 'savior of the world' Potter and his red haired tagalong Ronald. Hagrid sat beyond that at the end of the table. On Hermione's other side sat a new and not to unattractive young woman he did not recognize, socializing with Hermione. Beyond her sat 'the boy that tried to blow up Hogwarts' Neville, why and for what he was there was a complete mystery to Severus. And Lupin finished off that end of the table. With a deep scowl he swept his way to his new seat and sat rather rigidly down.

"Good Morning Severus." Hermione said brightly turning to him with a smile. He glared at her and poured himself a cup of tea. "I don't believe you have met Shannon Nightingale." She told him totally unfazed by his dark attitude. "She will be teaching Charms. Shannon this is Severus Snape, he teaches Potions."

"There is nothing good about mornings." He growled as he sipped his scalding tea. "Do refrain from piercing the blessed silence with your voice, especially while the castle is still free of students." He totally refused to acknowledge the exchange of names and the new comer. It was far too early in the morning to have to interact with Potter and his whole grade it seemed or anyone new for that matter.

"What's up with him?" Shannon asked Hermione, marginally offended by Severus' greeting or lack thereof.

"Oh, he's always like that, that is just the way he is." Hermione said with a shrug. "You'll get used to his moods eventually." Snape shot her a sidelong glare at this, Hermione pretended not to notice.

"Snape…, Snape, I know that name from somewhere." Shannon said thoughtfully as she chewed on a bagel. "Oh yes, now I remember, he was the Death Eater that murdered Dumbledore! What is he doing here then?"

"_Ex_ Death Eater." Hermione said strongly, she had felt Severus go rigid beside her even though there was a good eight inches between their sides. "He may have killed Dumbledore, but he did not murder him. There were extenuating circumstances regarding Dumbledore's death. He was a spy for the Light and without the information he risked his life to give Harry, the Light very well may have lost."

"How do you know that?" Shannon asked rather skeptically.

"Because I worked closely with both Harry and others that helped him defeat Voldemort. I know the battles would not have gone the same if we did not have the information that he was able to provide us. He deserves recognition, not condemnation." She told Shannon with a bit of a scowl.

"Alright, I guess I will have to believe you." She said backing off the subject. "You are a close friend of Harry Potter after all."

"Why did you stand up for him in court Hermione?" Neville asked, joining the conversation, though a bit hesitantly.

"Oh, so it was you." Shannon said with a bit of a frown on her face. "Why did you do it?"

"Because he is a good man, disagreeable most of the time, but a good man nonetheless. He did not deserve to go back to Azkaban or to have any other type of punishment beyond what he has already endured. He has more than paid his penance."

"And how do _you_ know this?" Came the question.

"Have you ever endured the Cruciatus curse?" She asked them both, they both shook their heads. "Well I have, just once, and let me tell you that it is the worst pain that you can ever imagine, times about a zillion that is in every muscle and fiber of your being. It is something so indiscernibly horrible that the only way to understand it is if you have experienced. That curse was one of Voldemort's favorites and he would use it regularly on his followers for his own amusement or for punishment. He has endured that curse far more times than anyone could care to count. If enduring such treatment and still providing useful and important information isn't punishment enough, then nothing is." She told them with a stern look while both they both looked at her rather astonished.

Breakfast passed with no other major events occurring, mainly due to the fact Potter stayed at his end of the table and Severus was un-obliged to interact directly with him for the morning. He was lost in thought most of the rest of his meal considering the conversation that had transpired beside and about him. He was still amazed and unsure of why Hermione stood up for him in court or to the new teacher. Though she had provided an answer to the question, he did not feel that it was the whole answer and that she was hiding something.

He once again thought about looking into her mind to figure out the answer to that question, but once again he was reminded that she would know. He also did not like to break into others' minds. He had enough experience to know how violating such an act could be after having endured such treatment by Voldemort on more than one occasion. Just as he was about to get up and sweep out of the Great Hall Minerva stilled him with a question.

"Severus, how are the infirmary Potions coming along?"

"They are not completely done. I have been focusing mainly on my lesson plans and not brewing those Potions just yet. I will have my lesson plans done by the end of the week and then begin to brew in earnest." He told her.

"I trust that your lesson plans are complete enough to begin the school year out with." She told him. "I am more concerned with the fact we have barely enough Potions as it is for the people here right now. If someone were to get sick we would have some problems. I want you to brew; your lesson plans can wait."

"I am sure that no one will get ill." He said rather stiffly.

"I still don't want to take that chance." Minerva said. "I would like to have the Hospital Wing fully stocked by the end of the week."

"But that is three days from now." He growled. "There is no way I can do all that is required in that short of a time."

"Hermione will help you. She is adapt at Potions and she has already handed in her lesson plans. She will be an asset to you so that everything can be done on time."

"I brew alone." He growled back at Minerva.

"You have brewed with others before, I'm sure that a couple days of brewing with Hermione will cause you no harm. I expect it to be done. Hermione, go with Severus after breakfast, you will be brewing the Hospital Wing's Potions with him until they are done."

"Yes Minerva." Hermione agreed. "When will you be leaving to begin Sir?"

"I am leaving now." He growled angrily and swept his way along the hall towards the door.

"Guess I have to go, see you guys later." She said hopping up and addressing Shannon and Neville with a smile.

"You are happy about these arrangements?!" Shannon asked rather astonished.

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "It is a great honor to brew with a Master. I find I always learn something new every time I interact with him."

"Better you than me." Neville shuttered, Hermione had noticed he had gone a bit paler than before, when Snape had walked into the room. She only smiled and hurried after the receding billowing black robes of Snape.

"Wait up Severus." She called out once they were out in the hall. She had to run to catch up to him as he began to descend the stairs towards the dungeons.

"I really don't need your help Miss Granger, leave." He ground out through gritted teeth and did not lessen his stride.

"You told Minerva yourself that you could not finish all the Potions in three days like she wants. You need my help whether you like it or not and she told you that you were to accept my help." She told him finally catching up to him, but still having to take nearly two steps for his every one.

"I can make do." He growled.

"I am sure that you can." She replied playing to his ego, "But you must admit that it would be so much easier if you had some help. You would be able to get both your brewing and your lesson plans done by the end of the week. Besides, be glad she had me help you, she could have asked Neville to help you." She grinned almost evilly. Severus' scowl turned even further down at this thought and his already pale face got whiter still.

"I made all the Potions for the Anniversary party of Voldemort's defeat in a short amount of time. I am capable of working with a few uncomplicated Potions at a time. Besides you have brewed with me before and I would venture a guess that it wasn't horrible. I did not distract you and you did not distract me and we got the Potions we needed done. It was a fine partnership."

"You talk far too much, especially since I have had barely enough time to ingest my food for the day." He scowled angrily. "I have little choice though, whether or not to let you brew with me. Minerva is bent upon getting the Hospital Wing set and I begrudgingly admit I will need the help. You are the only competent one in the line of Potions of all of the dunderheads displayed this morning at breakfast, so I have little choice but to have you as an assistant. You will touch nothing in my lab beyond the ingredients for each Potion you make." He told her, it was not a question.

"Yes, I understand. I am honored that you will allow me into your lab to brew with you. It is truly an honor to brew in the same room and observe a Master at work." She told him.

"Flattery will get you nowhere Miss Granger." He growled.

"You can call me Hermione; I thought that had been discussed already." She sighed. "And trust me, I am not one to indulge in flattery. What I said was the truth and nothing else. I was honored and amazed by the fact you helped me out with the Potions I needed for my horse. Helping you is the least I can do."

"Just don't get in my way." He grumbled as they came to his office, he un-Warded the door with a flick of his wand. "And you will not leave my labs in any other way than through the door we come in." He told her as he walked into his office and rewarded the door behind her when she had come in.

"Yes, I understand." She nodded following him into his office. She was still a bit disquieted by the rows and rows of strange dead things suspended in jars, she still swore every time she came in that something moved out of the corner of her eye. She watched as he moved to the bookshelf along one of his walls. He gripped one of the small tomes and tipped it out. The bookshelf sank back into the wall and swung back into darkness. He lit his wand and stepped into the dark.

"Well are you going to stand there all day or are you going get something done?" He growled looking back at her.

"I'm coming." She said with confidence and hurried over to the bookshelf. She took her wand out and lit it as he had and stepped into the gloom with him.

Once she stood beside him pushed the book back into its original position. The bookcase swung back into place with a low rumble of stone on stone. Once he was satisfied that the door was properly closed he swept past her and down the dark hallway that had been revealed with his wand before him. Curious and not wanting to be left behind she hurried to keep up. The hallway was wide enough for two people to walk abreast and there were no windows or breeze to be felt, the floor began to slope downward gradually as they went along. After a few hundred feet they came to the top of spiral stone stair. Walking down the stairs they went down three turns when Severus suddenly put out his wand.

"Put away your wand, there will be no foolish wand waving in my lab." He growled lightly from the gloom ahead, he blended seamlessly into the darkness only a brief glimpse of his profile in the glow from her wand told her he was still there.

"How will I see?" She asked trying to keep a thin tendril of fear from her voice.

"You will not need to see from here on out. There are some things I choose for you not to see. There are five more steps for you to take and then the ground is flat." He growled again almost angrily. She had noticed that even though he had growled at her for most of the last couple weeks since they had first brewed together whenever they interacted, he had been far kinder and less inclined to spit venom at her than before.

"I trust you." She said with a slight shake in her voice that she had tried to keep out.

"You are afraid nonetheless." He growled at her, anger creeping into his voice.

"Only of falling and breaking my neck in the dark on something I cannot see. I don't fear you, if that is what you are implying." She told him with a flash of determination in her eyes. "It is not a weakness to fear the unknown." She deactivated her wand, throwing them into utter and complete darkness.

She put her wand back into her robes. After a few moments she could hear him shuffle two stairs below her and mutter something. Carefully with one hand on the wall and one hand out before her she went down a stair. Her hands met with fabric ahead of her and her hand closed around it. She felt as he stiffened beneath her touch, almost as if she were going to strike him.

"Miss Gra-, Hermione remove your hand from my person." He hissed through clenched teeth.

"I need to feel that there is someone else here, I don't want to feel so utterly alone in the dark." She whispered as if to talk any louder would attract unwanted attention from something unknown or to gather his wrath for saying such a thing. She released her grip on his robes and ran her hand upward and to the side until she felt his shoulder and rested her hand on it, gathering some of the cloth there into her hand. He was still rigid beneath her hand as if he felt she might strike out at him like a poisonous snake. "I don't understand how you can crave such solitude and isolation, but I find such an idea quite frightening. Would you lend me some of your strength for a short time? I promise I will not attack you."

"I do not crave isolation." He growled at her, sounding almost like a wounded animal. "Very often it is thrust upon me, I choose merely to embrace the situation, for there is little I can do to change the circumstances." Here in the utter darkness, secluded far beneath the castle, where no one else would hear and he would not have to see the pity in her eyes, it was easier to admit such a thing out loud. It was not often that he would admit that his solitude was not always by choice or that he would sometimes wish for some companionship. "In the end you are always alone anyway."

"That is not always true." She said quietly giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I am sorry that you feel that way."

"I don't need your pity." He growled.

"I don't pity you." She told him sternly. "Pity is something you give to those who are lesser than yourself. You have never and never will fall into that category I can assure you of that Severus. You have always had my respect, even through the later part of the War. I one day hope to be seen as your equal, but I shall not hold my breath for that. I doubt you will ever see me much beyond the student I once was." She said sadly. "But that is beside the point. I am just saddened that you think everyone will desert you at the end of the day. A real friend would never willingly or knowingly do such a thing." He scoffed slightly in the dark, but she felt as he relaxed slightly under her hand.

He was astonished to feel her hand grasp the back of his robes between his shoulder blades. He stiffened in anticipation for the blow he half expected. No one had willingly reached out to touch him without doing him some harm, most of the time intentional. And no one had ever come to him seeking reassurance or comfort before. He could hear his own unspoken fear in her voice of not wanting to be alone in the dark, but he had been in that state for so long he could do little else but strike back at her with his own bitterness. Yet she did not relent as he had expected. She had released her grip on his robes, but did not take her hand off of his back. She instead ran her hand along his shoulder blade until her hand came to rest on his shoulder and she gripped it tightly.

Somehow her candid admission of fear and trust in him was enough to let him admit out loud that he was not satisfied with being alone, but there was little else that he could be. He had believed that he heard pity in her voice when she had responded, but she astonished him again by proclaiming her trust and respect for him again. She also claimed that she would like to be seen by him as an equal. If she only knew what he would like, he figured that she would run for the hills. She did however give the barest of suggestions to the idea that she would not be averse to being his friend. He felt that it would be most unlikely and he would not waste hope on it.

He began to move forward, but not too fast so that she would not fall in the dark. He had been down this hall and stairs many times, nearly every time in the darkness, feeling it cloak him and comfort him in its endless void. Here in the dark there was no one to cause him anymore pain. But then again, he had to admit as he felt the warmth of her hand through his robes on his shoulder, that there had been no one in the darkness to give him comfort either. He went down the last few stairs and waited until she was beside him in the dark and then walked forward a few steps. He had un-Warded the door just after she had quenched her light and walked confidently to the door he knew was ahead of them.

She felt as a blind man being lead through the darkness and tried to take full steps instead of shuffling ones, as to not slow him down or show she did not trust where he lead. He stopped after a few steps on the level floor and she felt as he braced himself against something ahead of them in the dark. She could feel the muscles below her hands ripple as he pushed what ended up being a door. She could see an outline of slightly less darkness opening up in front of her. He lead her through the door and she saw at the other end of what must have been a room the slight glow of coals in a hearth. She felt more than heard as he pointed his wand at the coals and caused them to burst into flames.

When she opened her eyes again after shutting out the brutal onslaught of light she saw that there were candles lit as well. Snape had move away from her hand while she had readjusted to the brightness. Looking around she saw that there were three large low tables at the perfect height to brew and raised areas on the table where ingredients could be prepared. Along two of the walls were floor to ceiling cupboards of Potions ingredients; along the short wall was floor to ceiling bookcases packed with books. They had entered along this wall through a section of bookcase that had swung out into the room. The other short wall was dominated by a large fireplace and flanked by two doors. In front of the hearth were two black leather wingback chairs each with a footrest and a small table between them. A low pile forest green rug lay on the stone floor beneath the chairs and almost to the hearth.

"The door on the right of the fireplace is the bathroom." He told her as he walked towards the left hand door and disappeared into it. She just stood in amazement taking in the entire room. "Well, if you are going to help me, you will need to get a cauldron, unless of course you want to try to brew in your hand." He grumbled levitating a large cauldron from what must have been a closet. "You can make the pep-up Potions; you seem to have the most experience in that."

She nodded and went into the left hand door. Indeed it was a closet and it was filled with many different sized cauldrons, stirring rods, spoons and alike, as well as knives and other instruments needed to brew almost any Potion imaginable. Choosing a medium sized cauldron and placing all the instruments she would need to prepare the Potion into it, she levitated the cauldron out into the main room. Carefully setting up her station she began to gather the ingredients from the cupboards and place them beside her cauldron. Soon they were both brewing their Potions, Severus at the middle table and Hermione at one of the others so that they were facing each other.

"Thank you." She said quietly after a few minutes.

"For what?" He grunted almost angrily.

"For leading me in the dark just now and for brewing the Potion my horse needed." She told him, he did not respond, but she knew he heard. They continued in silence for a while longer.

"Why?" He asked so quietly she almost didn't catch it.

"Why what?" She asked him in return.

"Why do you trust me?" He asked quietly in a low but non threatening growl. "You claim that you do. What basis for it do you have?"

"Well, for the most part I have come to find that your bark is far worse than your bite." She told him with a sigh. "But I am in no way saying that you would not be a formidable and most definitely deadly enemy to come up against. I know that you are capable of great and terrible things, but I know that you choose not to do them now that you have more of a choice in the matter, now Voldemort is gone. You are a powerful wizard; possibly the most powerful that I know, now that Dumbledore and Voldemort are both dead. You could choose to take the path Voldemort did and rise to the top and force the world to bow to you, but you have not. You may be bitter and mean to nearly everyone you come into contact with, but I don't think that you are mean spirited; if that were the case than Fawkes would not have come to you.

I also know that there were many times when I was a student that you could have taken advantage of Harry, killed him even. You could have killed him the same time you killed Dumbledore, but you chose not to. You let him live and you saved Draco, though I don't believe he deserved it. You have a good heart inside, you just choose to keep it hidden behind an angry scowl and biting attitude. And like I told you once before, I have no reason not to trust you, you have given me no reason not to. Besides if I didn't trust you, do you think I would be here, deep beneath the castle with Wards and secret entrances between me and escape if I thought I would need to do so? You may not see yourself as a man of honor, but I know you are."

"I killed my one and only friend, what honor is there in that?" He hissed with venom back in his voice.

"I know that there was more to the situation than what Harry saw and relayed to everyone else. Besides the Wizengamot chose to acquit you of murder, I am not one to defy the choice of the court." She told him. She knew that she should probably tell him what was in the pensieves, as well as the fact she had seen them, but she felt that he would not be ready hear about them just yet. There was also the fact that he was working with a potentially explosive Potion and did not want to risk anything going wrong to fill the room with smoke and Potions blastings.

"How very astute of you." He grumbled.

He had gotten an answer, but he knew that there was more. He knew her personality far too well from observing her in class and reading her papers. She was not the type to so easily accept the findings of another and would dig as deep as she had too to find an answer that she felt satisfactory. He knew that there was something more that she knew about him or that pertained to his time while he was a spy. How else would she have known of his numerous torture sessions, among other things?

He wondered why she was being reserved about the information that she obviously knew. She had either grown out of the know it all stage or was holding something back for her own use later on. Yet, even as he thought that, he could not pinpoint something that could damn him more than the commonly held knowledge that he had killed Dumbledore. He could hardly see how the information that he had not murdered him in full cold blood would be something with which to blackmail him with.

He was forced to admit the possibility that she had grown out of the stage where she must force her knowledge onto everyone around her, at least on a regular basis; she was becoming a teacher after all. He also had to admit that he had a hard time thinking of her as the student she once was, ever since she had come to visit him the second time, surprising him with a simple gesture and then standing for him in court. He also had a very hard time dislodging the image of her in her muggle clothing. He had a hard time now, not seeing the curves he knew were hidden beneath her robes.

She may trust him he knew, which was an accomplishment in itself, considering his past. But that still did not get him any closer to what he wished he could have. He would have to be content with the mere fact she would be forced to sit next to him at mealtimes. He would have to enjoy and glean what attention and interaction he could at those times, without acting as if he was looking for it. He had been a spy; he figured that he could manage that.

**A/N: so snape has opened up, just a tiny little bit. Hum… Hermione has managed to not only get into his lab, but help him brew. Seems as if the inner sanctum has been breached once so far. Really nice labs too, nice and big, perfect for more than one person, and two chairs by the fireplace, that could come in handy… oops, can't keep going, will give to much away *grin evilly*, you all will just have to wait till next chapter to find out what happens next. I would like five reviews please. Thank you so much for those of you who have reviewed, especially the anonymous reviewers I can't reply to. Hope you enjoyed the chapter- Dragons Quill**


	25. School Begins

**A/N: ok guys, here is the next chapter as promised. We learn who teaches what and we get to see our lovely Gryffindor employ some very Slytherin techniques to get what she wants.**

_School Begins (25)_

It had been a full two weeks into the school year when Hermione finally got the courage to ask Severus for the use of his private lab. She was running low on her shampoo and conditioner. She did not want to try to brew in her bathroom again and the classroom was out of bounds for her, as it was being used for classes. She figured that he might be safe to approach again after the dark attitude he had been sporting once all the teachers had been announced at the Welcome Feast the first night of school.

She really could have sworn that he was going to explode upon hearing them. Ron had taken Madame Hooch's position while Harry had taken his coveted DADA position. Hagrid had stayed on as Care of Magical Creatures, Ginny came back for Arithmancy as well as achieving the Ravenclaw's Head of House. Neville had come back as Herbology teacher and Huffupuff Head of House. Lupin had become Astronomy teacher and the new teacher Shannon Nightingale the Charms teacher. While he had kept both his former positions and she took up Minerva's as Transfiguration teacher and Gryffindor Head of House.

When she had helped McGonagall pick out teachers and Heads of Houses they had tried to find those who had been in each house as a head for that house, but they had been unsuccessful. They chose to have those who were best suited for each subject and then those who most closely matched each house. They figured that eventually Head of House positions would transfer back to someone from that house, but not for a good long while. There had been too many killed during the War to be able to find anyone else.

"Severus?" She asked carefully one night at supper.

"What?" He turned a rather disapproving frown at her.

"I was wondering if you would help me find a place where I could do some brewing." She told him, edging around what she really would like.

"Why?" He grumbled. "What Potion requires your attention that can't be done by a Potion's Master?" He pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Well, I really didn't want to bother you since you have your hands full with classes and all when I can brew my own things. I just need some more of my shampoo and conditioner. I have my own cauldrons and ingredients. I just need someplace other than my bathroom to brew."

"Your _bathroom!?_" He almost choked out; she couldn't tell if it was from shock or disgust. "Did you learn nothing in my classes?!"

"It is the only place that won't be ruined if something were to go wrong and much easier to clean if it boils over. I don't have a room like you do, that is totally dedicated to the art of Potion making. If I did, I wouldn't bother you, but as I don't have such a room I figured you would be the best person to ask to help me find a suitable place to brew." She said in a matter of fact tone, edging closer to what she really wanted to ask, keeping her face as impassive as she could.

He glared at her out of the corner of his eye as if he was assessing what she had said, trying to decide if there was more. He figured that there was. She had all but asked if she could invade his space again in his private lab, but he had to give her credit. He would have assumed that her Gryffindor tendencies would have made her come right out and ask him, but she obviously had some Slytherin in her. She had tried to make it seem like it was _his _idea to _invite_ her to join him _again_.

And as much as he didn't like to admit it, he enjoyed her presence down in his inner sanctum. She had added life and a joy that he had not experienced in a long time, if in fact ever. She had changed his private seclusion and hideaway, which had always been his comfort and left it empty when she was no longer there. She had taken nothing physical from the chambers, but her companionship had filled the room and made it welcoming as he had never felt before. Now when he went to his lab it felt even more isolated than before. Life just wasn't fair.

"Have the house elves take your cauldrons and ingredients down to my lab." He growled. "The last thing the school needs is to have to rebuild the Gryffindor tower because of a Potions explosion. Meet me after breakfast tomorrow in my office."

"Thank you very much; I will have the house elves do that tonight." She beamed at him. Even though he knew she figured she had gotten the upper hand, he was still warmed by her smile.

He would enjoy her companionship while she still offered it, though he figured that she would find a better companion elsewhere and leave him high and dry eventually. Why she was still associating as much as she did with him still baffled him. The whole 'Dream Team' was now present at the Head Table as well as some of her other friends. She was even sitting next to the new teacher and they seemed to have hit it off together. But he noticed rather to his annoyance at first, that she would always find some way to try to include him in a conversation or talk to him during the meal. In the staff room she would sit with Potter and both Weasleys, but would acknowledge him with a smile or a nod when she saw him.

He would keep to his usual haunts in the staff room, the dark secluded corners, always facing the door to observe the comings and goings of the other staff. He found that he had begun to spend more time watching her, he really tried not to. She was everything that he had wanted, a witch with wit and intelligence that he could both challenge and be challenged by, as well as beautiful; but she was young, and he had been her teacher and not very nice at that. He figured he would have to be happy with whatever attention or friendship that she would bestow on him.

In the morning he did not go to breakfast in the Great Hall, he stayed in his office grading papers, as he was not required to appear on weekends. He preferred to spend Saturday mornings at his own leisure, usually brewing and experimenting instead of being subjected to more exposure to students. It kept him from hexing anyone after a long week.

At 9 o'clock he heard a knock on his door.

"Enter." He called out in an almost annoyed tone and did not look up from the paper he was marking. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione enter and stand quietly. After a moment of refusing to acknowledge her she cleared her throat. After more time of refusing to notice her he spoke, still not looking from the essay in front of him. "If you wanted to use my private lab why did you not ask?" He growled, his quill leaving yet another bloody wound on the paper.

"I figured that you would say no." She said honestly.

"That should have been the answer I gave you." He told her gruffly. "But seeing as I have some brewing to do today, I can perhaps spare some room in my lab for your Potions and to make sure you don't blow something up."

"I appreciate that you are making space for me in your lab for me today. I don't want to cause an inconvenience." She told him. He snorted at this, and she was reminded again of a horse.

"You seem to cause many nonetheless." He gruffed. "At least you are not going to continue to brew in such a volatile place as a bathroom."

"I have found many of my best Potions have been made in a bathroom." She smiled knowingly. He shot her a dark look.

"If you are referring to your little adventure with Polyjuice in your Second Year, I can assure you that was an incredibly stupid thing to do. There were too many variables that could have gone wrong. You are lucky that you had only the changing ingredient wrong at the end."

"Luck had very little to do with it." She still smiled. "And I knew the consequences before I started. I choose to take that risk, and in the end we got some information that we needed."

"We?" He hissed. "So was it your idea or one of the others in the 'Dream Team'?"

"Well, that is all in the past, besides you said you had Potions to brew yourself. They won't get done if we stay here and talk all day." She sidestepped the question and changed the subject quite artfully.

"You still did not answer the question." He told her with a frown and piercing stare. "But you do make a point, the sooner we start brewing the sooner it shall be done."

He put his quill away and then crossed over to his bookshelf after Warding the door. Once the bookshelf was opened he stepped through and she followed.

"Are you going to use your wand to light the way?" She asked as he reached to replace the book.

"I usually don't use a light on my way down to the lab." He told her as the bookcase swung shut and threw them into utter darkness again.

"Well you will have to guide me again then." She said softly reaching out in the darkness to where she had last seen him. She caught the sleeve of his robes in her hand. She felt as he stiffened beneath her touch. "Can I ask why you act as if I have struck you every time I reach out to touch you?" She asked quietly with a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Nearly everyone who has ever come near me has struck at me." He growled angrily at her. He was angry with himself for answering her question when he knew he should have stayed silent. But there was something about the fact that she was so close and it was so dark that had made him answer despite his better judgment.

"I am sorry to hear that." She sighed. "I would never, at least not on purpose."

"Come on, let's go." He said rather gruffly. He reached up and took her wrist and then to her surprise tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, escorting her down the black hallway. If there had been any light he would have seen her blush.

"You could be quite the gentleman if you would refrain from frowning, sneering and deducting House Points left and right." She said quietly leaning closer to him in the dark.

"I am not to be made a mockery of." He scoffed.

"I am serious." She retorted. "All you have to do is let people in."

"To bare ones self to another is to invite pain and I for one have had more than enough for one lifetime." He growled dangerously in the dark.

"I can only imagine and understand somewhat of why you feel that way if everyone you have come near has struck at you and I am sorry to hear such a thing." She said sadly.

"I can assure you that you don't know the half of it." He growled to her. They had reached the bottom of the stairs and he removed her hand from his arm he reached out with his wand and touched the door before them in the dark. She heard him grunt something so that she could not understand it. Then she heard as he pushed the doorway open. Following him as he entered the lab she stepped to the side as she became reacclimatized to light again and he closed the bookshelf behind her. Then he moved away to the closet and began to gather his instruments and ingredients together. Her things had been carefully laid out on one of the tables in a neat pile. She crossed over to them and began to prepare her ingredients for her own Potions.

They spent the better portion of the day in the lab, taking lunch before the fireplace as Potions simmered. They did not talk much, both lost in thought and in the complex processes of their Potions. Severus worked on more and extra Hospital Potions most of the time while Hermione worked on her own hair care Potions. Hermione also helped make an easy quick headache Potion while she waited for her Potions to finish, as they took about six hours to simmer before the last ingredients could be added and then boiled for another hour. Hermione enjoyed the time that she could spend working near him, enjoying what little conversation that did pass between them.

Severus for his part spent the better part of the time after lunch scheming how to keep her down in the lab as long as possible, despite the fact the Potions that were needed to be made were almost done. He really did not want the day to end. As Hermione was bottling the last of her Potions and putting them away in a crate she had sent down for that purpose, Severus Flooed the kitchens and had them send down a light meal, as it was nearly dinner time after all. A few minutes later as Hermione was cleaning her area up two covered platters arrived on the table between the chairs.

"You can store your cauldrons in the store room in a corner." Severus told her in a disinterested tone as he glanced through a Potions book pulled at random from his shelves. "And you can put your ingredients in the cupboards if you wish. Just make sure you keep each ingredient with its own kind. That way you can find them easily next time."

"Next time?" She asked surprised. "You are inviting me to come down here again? I thought you believed me to be an inconvenience."

"Your requests may be inconvenient, but can't have the Gryffindor tower blown up. It was never built to withstand such a thing. Down here nothing will break if there is some sort of accident, not that your Potions would blow up, but then you can never be too careful." He grumbled.

"If I am not mistaken, I do believe you just gave me a complement." She beamed at him. "I would be honored to brew with you when it is convenient for you, saving the dunderheads above from disaster." She tried not to giggle and failed.

"I will not be made fun of." He growled giving her a dark look.

"I'm not making fun." She smiled. "I was agreeing, most of the children are dunderheads." He gave her a look that plainly told her he didn't believe she meant it. "No I mean it. You have Jason Willows in your class, first year Ravenclaw, I swear he is as bad at Transfigurations as Neville was in Potions."

"Please refrain from mentioning him." Severus growled. "It is bad enough I have to get some of my ingredients from that insufferable boy."

"He really isn't so bad, well if you don't count Potions that is. He really does know what he is doing in the greenhouse though. He saved my ivy I brought from my last job. It was barely hanging on, it must have had multiple near death experiences, but now that I gave it to Neville, it is flourishing like I never thought possible. He knows his plants and what they could be used for, that's for sure."

"He's still a dunderhead as far as I'm concerned." He grumbled still scanning the page before him. He hadn't really read much since the conversation started and hadn't been reading much beforehand anyway.

"Well I hope my outlook on graduated students is different from yours." She shook her head and came close to him, looking quizzically at the book in his hands. "So, what are you researching?"

"Nothing anymore as you insist upon interrupting me." He grumbled snapping the book shut. "But as it seems that dinner is here I was to be interrupted anyway. Would you care to join me? There are two plates." He replaced the book to the shelf.

"I guess I shall." She smiled. "I still stick by what I said this morning, you really could be a gentleman if you were a smidgen kinder to people in general." He scoffed at this and strode over to what ended up being a pair of Cesar salads and a bottle of wine.

**A/N: well, well, well, Severus is being gentlemanly, ok maybe not totally, but I would definitely say it is a step in the right direction. He is at least letting someone else into his tiny little social world. oh well, you will just have to wait and see what happens next chapter. I would like 5 reviews please.**

**To address a couple comments made by anonymous readers. The marriage law comes near the end, it is used as a tool in this story, not the driving force. The horses are important, just be patient they are still babies, got to give them time to grow up. Fawkes, well he has his part to play as well, don't worry about him, he has to spend some time resting after all that work he had to do with Severus. he will have an interesting little part near the end as well, and he will be his usual cheeky self as well. he seems to be the only one that can chew Severus out without fear of retribution, it is far too much fun.**

**Thanks to every one who reviewed.- Dragons Quill**


	26. Gifts and Surprises

**A/N: ok guys here is the next chapter. I just love all the reviews you send me and am so glad that you guys like what I write. It is still amazes me how fast I am getting such a response!**

_Gifts and Surprises (26)_

Hermione and Severus soon fell into an easy and comfortable routine, though both parties wondered how long it was going to last. Every couple of months Hermione would come to the lab and brew her hair Potions and Severus would escort her down the dark hallway, enjoying her closeness and trust for as long as it lasted. Severus would always extend the time they had together in the lab by ordering dinner and wine which they ate usually at a Potions table, talking of a wide and varied topics.

Hermione could hardly believe that Severus had, on her third time to his lab, given her full access to everything in the lab, including ingredients, cauldrons and literature. He however did not give her the final password to enter at the bottom of the stairs or permission to leave by any means besides the bookcase door. She did not push to get either, as she knew that he was keeping some things private and his own. Just the fact she was allowed to delve into some of his old and priceless tomes was enough. She also knew that because she did not have the final password or even in fact a reputable way to enter his office when he was not present, he had not given up control of his personal space, he was only sharing when he chose to. And she was ok with that. She did not know how long he would continue to be so generous and took ample opportunity to gather as much knowledge as she could while she was allowed in the lab.

Severus wondered how long she would continue to willingly come with him to the lab. Granted he had given her full access to the materials in the lab when he was present, but he wondered what would happen when she had read all of the material on his shelves. He could only hope that she would come willingly even after she had gained all the knowledge she could from his books. He figured that was what kept her coming back every couple of months. She really could decide to brew in her bathroom and he would not see her again. As much as he had discouraged and scoffed at the idea, he had to admit that besides a lab, a bathroom was the next best place to brew besides a kitchen. He just hoped that she would not run out of material to read anytime soon. He would not expect her to consider him anything other than a colleague, even though she had hinted at friendship. He was not able to reciprocate in a manner generally accepted or anticipated by others and so he expected that the offer would dry up.

In the month leading up to Christmas Hermione risked asking entrance to the lab on nearly a weekly basis. Severus surprised her by allowing it. He would watch her carefully as he brewed his own Potions, noticing that she was not brewing her normal hair Potions; but instead would spend time writing and rewriting notes beside her cauldron as she added ingredients that she typically didn't use. He refrained from asking her what she was making in an effort to seem impassive. She seemingly saw through the façade though because she told him not to worry, she wouldn't explode his lab. She went further as to inform him she would not tell him what she was doing until she was done. She had told him this was a sly smile and even when he began to actually question her, would refuse to tell. This infuriated and intrigued him. She was challenging his superiority in his own lab by refusing to tell him what she was making, as well as his Potions prowess by forcing him to figure out what it was. He found the combination to be frustrating as well as alluring.

Finally one week before Christmas she announced that she was finished with the Potion and it only required testing. With this announcement he figured she would have to relent and reveal what the Potion was. He had recognized the basic ingredient list that she had started with as a conditioner, but as the ingredient list had changed and evolved he could not tell what or why she was looking for in an outcome. And he really did not have the time to do any follow up research as to what she was using as ingredients to figure it out. She frustrated him more when she simply bottled and pocketed the Potion when she was done and refused to comment further.

The students were gone from the school two weeks before Christmas, with only a handful staying over the winter break. With Christmas and the New Year coming soon upon the castle it fell to Severus to prepare for the much anticipated (or dreaded by Severus) parties. Hangover Potions for spiked punch and eggnog, as well as sober up, pep-up and the ever needed contraceptive Potions that would be required for the events. Hermione had hinted she would be willing to help with preparations and he had nearly ordered her to do so, as he had a hard time asking and was better at telling. With Hermione in the lab working with him he found that he did not dread the long hours and exhausting monotony of making many batches of the same Potions over and over again, in order to get enough to suffice for the Christmas festivities that would be taking place at the castle, though he would never actually admit to it, out loud at least. Yet he did go so far as to gruffly thank her two days before Christmas for her help.

She was totally surprised by his admission of gratitude, even though he had grumbled it almost begrudgingly in the dark when escorting her in the hallway from the lab too his office. She had also thought he had taken the fact she refused to tell him what she was making rather well. She had rather expected him to corner her in the lab or even refuse her entrance into the lab until she had revealed the purpose and destination of the Potion, but he had not. He had been covertly watching her ever since he realized that she was not making something he had asked her to or one of her own hair Potions. He may have been a Master spy for nearly twenty years between the two Wars but he didn't seem to employ all of his arts of not being detected. Or perhaps it was because she knew he was watching that she had noticed so quickly. It was actually kind of fun to be doing something that he did not know all about in his own lab, right in front of him and in his own subject. Though she suspected he had figured out what she was trying to do and just hadn't mentioned it. Although the fact that he would try different tactics to tell him what the Potion was, actually for hinted at the fact that he didn't.

She had tested the Potion the week before Christmas, when she helped in the lab making all of the required Potions for the upcoming parties. She had been careful in her research and in her choice of ingredients and to her surprise got it very close to right on the first try. She knew that there was some room for improvement, but the general overall effectiveness was surprisingly pleasing. She figured that it would have to do for the time being. She made one final batch of the Potion three days before Christmas and bottled enough for two weeks, pocketing it and storing it with her other hair Potions and only smiled innocently when Severus gave her a questioning look. She had special plans for this batch of her new Potion.

As curious as Severus was about the new Potion that Hermione was making, the dreading of Christmas was far greater than figuring out what it was. He had always dreaded the holiday season; I had always left him cold. He did not have any family left, his father was dead, and for that he was thankful. He had made sure his father had been buried deep and stayed there when he had died. He had no significant other to be distracted by or to love as much as he wanted to love, he had no one, he was completely and utterly alone.

Minerva had made it a point to ensure he had been invited and came to the staff Christmas party. He had endured the party only because of the spiked punch bowl. He found it hard to watch as all the other staff members mingled and talked with each other about their families, where they were going to spend Christmas and their past memories of the season. He had no such happy memories, nothing good ever happened around this time and when everyone else would be going away for the holidays to see their families, he would be in his dungeons all alone and forgotten. What another 'happy' holidays this was going to be.

Hermione had been invited to go to the Weasley's for Christmas dinner and had accepted, but she had declined staying at their house through until New Years as Harry planned to. She was going to stay in her chambers at Hogwarts and travel by Floo to the Burrow for Christmas dinner and New Years, then back to her chambers again after the parties. What Hermione could not understand was why Harry and Ginny had yet to get married, but she did not ask too many questions of her friends in that manner. She had figured that their different jobs had kept them apart, but now they were both on staff at Hogwarts and saw each other almost daily. If they wanted advice or encouragement they were going to have to ask for it in that venue.

Christmas Day dawned bright and crisp with the sun sparkling off the dusting of new fallen snow and there was heavy frost in the trees giving the world a winter wonderland feeling. Hermione woke early as usual and decided she would go to see Prince and Lucy to give them their Christmas presents. She had bought some carrots, apples and a bag of peppermint candies she would give to them, even though she knew it was without question cheesy to be giving her horses presents. The presents that were to be exchanged between her and her friends were going to be taken care of at the Burrow. Though she had refused to send them on ahead of her because she knew the boys would try to at least sneak a peek and wanted to keep things a surprise.

Lucy had recovered extremely well after the administration of the bone re-growth Potion. Hermione had left her stunned until the day after the Potion had been dispensed, mainly because Hermione was so tired. Now you would never know that there had been anything wrong with her as she would run, jump and play with Prince like any other horse. Hermione had made sure to put a long lasting infertility charm on Lucy when she turned them both out together. Now Prince and Lucy could do their own thing, which she was quite sure was going to happen, without worrying about taking care of another horse, at least not for a good long while. She had also been teaching Lucy some of the same commands as Prince. Both were coming along quite nicely and would be ready to start under saddle when the school year ended.

Both were more than overjoyed to see her coming bearing food and she spent a couple hours with them, giving them treats and brushing each down. Then she returned to her room to shower and get ready for Christmas dinner. She wondered briefly about how her Potion would be accepted, but decided she would not worry about a reaction until after she had eaten Christmas dinner and returned to the castle later in the day.

The bright and cheery start to Christmas day was not completely ignored by the dungeon's sole occupant, but rather pointedly and vehemently avoided and disregarded. Severus woke at his usual time and went through his normal morning routine, showering and dressing before he ventured fourth to find something edible. He was going to do everything he could to keep this day as normal as any other so that he would not feel so neglected and forgotten. He was even going to go so far as to begin to brew for the New Years parties that would be happening in about a week.

When he came from his bedroom into his sitting area he immediately noticed that there was something out of place. Sitting on the table between his wingback chairs before his hearth was a package. This package was medium sized, about the same size and shape of two egg cartons stacked on atop the other. It was wrapped in a glossy, deep forest green paper and had a silver ribbon tied into a bow around the box. Affixed to the top of the package was a letter addressed to _Severus Snape_ in neat flowing script.

Approaching the package carefully he waved his wand over it, casting various disarming, identification and purifying spells to ensure that it was not something that would harm him. Finding nothing amiss with the package he carefully removed the letter and opened it, hoping it would provide some explanation for the package's presence. What he saw on the paper displeased him very much, but he could do little but comply. The paper had obviously been linked to the package as it currently read as such:

Dear Severus,

If you are reading these words then you did not open the package yet. Open the box first and then read the letter, otherwise this is all you're going to be able to see until you do. I trust you have found that there is nothing malicious about the package. Don't worry this is a good surprise that I have been working on especially for you and was inspired by you. You will just have to have some faith.

The letter was not signed.

He did not like surprises, they were usually no of a good nature. He also did not blindly give out faith easily; it was too ingrained to be anything but overly cautious with anything new. It was what had kept him alive throughout his time as a spy. He carefully poked the box with his wand and cast a few more extremely powerful spells to make sure that it was in fact safe to open and not spelled or poisoned; he knew that there were still plenty of people that still wanted him dead. (A/N: "Its new, lets poke it with at stick!!" Skydancinghobbit giggles and runs back to her page merrily. Silly beta.)

Finally relenting that he would have to open the package to find out anymore about it, he sat down in one of his chairs and took the package into his lap. Carefully pulling the loose end on the bow he set the ribbon aside and then proceeded to carefully rip off the paper. When he had taken all of the wrapping off he was left with a simple wooden box. The wood had been finished, but it was meant more for being practical than showy. Boxes like this were usually used to make carrying or levitating large quantities of bottled Potions easier, though they usually came in much bigger sizes, usually crate and pallet sizes. Carefully lifting the lid he saw that the box held five compartments, each holding a medium sized vial.

Carefully lifting one of the vials from where it rested he held it up to the light to see what it held. He nearly dropped the vial when he realized what he held and who had sent this package to him. The vial held an opaque pearly liquid with a pink hue. This was the Potion that Hermione had refused to reveal to him and had made in his lab. Why did she give these vials to him, on Christmas nonetheless? Returning the vial to its compartment and placing the box on the table beside him he snatched up the letter he had set aside earlier, hoping it would give him some answers.

Dear Severus,

Merry Christmas, I hope that your day is happy and pleasant. (He scoffed at this) As you already know I have sent you something you have wanted to know about for some time now. This is the Potion that I have been making in your lab and I have already tested it. This was something that was inspired partially by you and for you, but I have found it to be immensely helpful as well in my time working with you. (He sneered at this but it wasn't as angrily as usual.) The pink was not my choice; it simply turned out that way. I am sure that you already know that this Potion is a conditioner. I have tested it on my own hair and would not give it to you if I had not. I know that you have used my other hair Potions to no determent and so I will ask that you have faith in my Potions skills to use this before you brew again. (He sported a frown for this comment, though he had to admit to himself and only to himself mind you, that she was right, he was still in one piece after his last encounter with her hair Potions.) I believe you will find the outcome to be much to your liking. I have provided you enough Potions to try it during the time we will have to brew for the New Years parties.

I will come to your office tomorrow morning so that we can begin to brew the Potions that will be needed for the New Year and perhaps get a head start on the Hospital Wing Potions for next semester. I really do hope that you have a Merry Christmas.

Hermione

He was not quite sure how to handle this new development. He had to reread the letter a couple times in order to have things sink in. Hermione had given him a Christmas present, something no one had done in a long time. True, Dumbledore did give out presents to the entire staff while he was still alive, but one can only have so many pairs of socks.

He was also not quite sure if he should feel insulted with the fact that she had given him a hair Potion. He was more than aware that all his students former and present believed he did not shower, hence the greasy bat nicknames. He took showers daily, but it didn't seem to matter, within an hour or two of brewing it looked like he hadn't showered in a month, at least. But then again he thought back to when he was in Azkaban when she had brought him her hair Potions from her own store, to make him feel better. Perhaps she thought this would make him feel better, about what he was not sure. She did say that she had tried it out on her hair. There was also the matter to be said about him being the inspiration and destination for this particular Potion. What this meant was not quite something he could grasp at that moment in time.

It was far too early and he had yet to have anything to eat for the day. He set the box and letter aside not knowing what to do with it. Then ate the food the house elves had set out for him, trying not to dwell on what significance, if any, the package had.

It was late in the afternoon when Hermione finally Flooed back to her chambers. She had presents and leftovers that Molly would not hear her leaving without, as well as a tin the size of a breadbox full of Christmas cookies, fudge and brindle. All in all it had been a lovely dinner with nearly the entire remaining members of the Order, as well as the 'Golden Trio' and the remaining Weasley clan members crammed into the Burrow. Why the house did not just burst from the number of people was a mystery to Hermione. She had had the terrible urge to make a sign and hang it on the door stating "WARNING: _Contents Under Pressure, Proceed With Caution_", but she figured the joke would be lost to nearly everyone.

Feeling delightfully warm in her new red Weasley sweater with an HG knitted into it she shelved her new books, set her other presents aside and decided she would go to see Severus. She had given him five vials of her conditioner she had been working on under his nose. She didn't know if he knew that exact reason for the conditioner, but she wanted to see how it had been received. She did not think he had been invited to go anywhere or if he had plans or not. She sadly figured he would have declined any invitations he might have been given and would instead hide out in his dungeons away from the world. She did not like the idea of anyone being alone on the holidays, so she decided that she would risk it and go visiting. Grabbing the tin of holiday goodies she would never be able to eat on her own she headed off to face Severus.

Severus sat behind his desk in his office grading papers on Christmas, they were the last of those he would have to get done before the students infested the castle again. He had been unable to concentrate on brewing because of the present from Hermione. He could not stop mulling over the concept that she had willingly given him a Christmas present, though at that moment he was unsure of what it was meant to do. He knew that it was some hair Potion, a conditioner. He had deduced that while she was brewing it and she had told him. She had also claimed to have already tested it out, but he had not seen anything different with her hair than any time before. And what made her think that something that worked for her would work for him or that he would use it for that matter.

Her constant presence around him and apparent kind domineer was becoming quite vexing; taking his well ordered 'I hate the world and the world hates me' philosophy and messing with it. Young beautiful women just didn't associate with old, ill tempered ex Death Eaters, it just didn't happen. He finally stopped grading the paper before him and sat and glowered at it, deep in thought. An undetermined amount of time later he was roused from his contemplation by a knock on his office door.

"Enter." He grunted, thankful he still held his quill so that he could quickly and without much effort look like he really was doing something. He was unsure of who would even still be in the castle on Christmas night, he would have thought everyone would have been gone home, save for Filtch and the stray student.

Hermione had figured she would check his office first. It was the only way that she knew to get to the lab and she was not quite sure she wanted to get thrown by the Wards at his chamber door again. She wasn't sure if she was surprised or not that he was in his office, grading nonetheless, on Christmas. "Hello." She smiled as she entered, closing the door behind her. "How was your day?" Severus looked up from his paper and gave her a dark look.

"How does it look like it went?" He growled almost angrily at her, hoping she would go away and leave him to his contemplation.

"That good hu?" She said thoughtfully. She looked at the paper he was grading upside-down across the desk. "Ah Miss Butler, quite good in Transfigurations, but not so good in Potions I see." She commented on the copious red slashes within the first paragraph alone. "Well I have decided I shall come to save you from grading papers then. Perhaps you can be tempted away from grading." She announced to him, garnering another very dark look, but she saw what might have been a fleeting image of interest in his eyes. She produced a shrunken container about the size of a mint tin from the pocket of her robes and held it out expectantly.

Severus could not believe who walked into his door and seemingly insisted upon interacting with him. She had to want something, there was no other explanation. She would be with her friends enjoying their company if she didn't. He was not inclined to oblige whatever she wanted; she was coming to the lab in the morning anyway, whatever it was she wanted it could wait till then. He thought she was altogether too cheery about coming to see him and making small talk, which he thought she was very bad at. She then produced a tin from her robes that were thrown over a hideous sweater and held it out expectantly with a smile. He wondered briefly what might be in the tin, but figured he would find out soon enough. And he thought perhaps it would provide a way to garner the answer of why and what she had sent to him earlier in the day. It would also probably provide him with some entertainment as well as more time with Hermione.

"Well if you would put Miss Butler's paper to the side then I will show you what I have that may provide a diversion." She said after a moment of him just staring at her. "Or perhaps we could go down to the lab and sit for a while. It is common ground and quite frankly, all your pickled… things, creep me out. Perhaps if you have a chess board we could play a round or two before the night is out."

"Why exactly are you here Hermione? I am quite sure you have come here looking for something, what is it, so that I may be getting on with my grading. I am also sure that your friends will be missing you at whatever party you are currently not at, wasting your time here in the castle." He said rather icily. He felt that there was more to what she wanted than what she said.

"I am here because I don't think that anyone should be left alone on the holidays, Christmas especially. It is a time for family and friends to gather and share each other's company. Since you are currently here and not off someplace yourself, then I would venture to guess you lack living family. As I also lack a living family and have no desire to be crammed into the Burrow like a sardine with everyone else. I figured you might accept my presence as a token of friendliness." She told him after a moment of almost shock.

"Besides I can hardly imagine you won't get your papers done long in advance of the start of next term. And I would hardly call coming to visit you a waste of time. I always find that I learn something new about something whenever I am around you, and I am not just talking about having access to your books, scrolls and notes." She told him. "You really are a very interesting person once you get past the rather rude and rough exterior. Is it so hard to believe that there is someone in the world that would like to know you as a person, not just for what you can do for them, but just because they don't mind being around you?" He gave her a look that plainly told her he didn't believe her.

"Ok, you were right then, how about that?" She told him with a dirty look. "I did come down here looking for something. I wanted to spend some time with you. I cannot stand to think that anyone is alone, least of all on Christmas. I also wanted to share some of the season's eating's as well. Molly sent me home with more food and sweets than possibly an entire army could consume in a week and I wanted to do some sharing. I figured that even you could not be averse to having some cookies and coco in front of the fire. A game of wizard's chess I thought would also be a fine addition to such an exchange. I wanted to be sharing with you the happiness I have found the season brings and give you something nice about the season to remember. Especially since it seems that you have very few good memories about this time of year if you insist upon grading papers on Christmas." She told him with a sigh. "So would you like some cookies, fudge or brindle? I have more than enough." She told him feeling rather exasperated.

Severus for his part was in shock. She had just told him she _wanted_ to spend time with_ him_, on _Christmas_. He was flabbergasted. No one _ever_ willingly spent time with him unless they wanted something. The concept that she found him interesting and desired to interact in a friendly manner just for the purpose of being with him was an alien idea. He fought the urge to pinch himself to see if this was actually a dream or not. He thought better of it though. If it wasn't a dream he didn't want to make a fool out of himself, or if it was a dream he wasn't sure if he wanted to wake up. Not quite sure how to approach this new situation he reverted to his usual defensiveness. "I have no use for anything so frivolous as sweets." He scoffed looking back down at his desk. "Sugar cannot fix all the problems in the world."

"Is that why you are so sour all the time?" She asked, contorting her face into something strange as she fought to keep a straight face.

"I am not to be mocked." He growled giving her a black look.

"I am not mocking Severus, I'm teasing, there is a difference. One is mean spirited and the other is for fun, usually done by your friends. But you do have to lighten up just a little sometimes. Keeping everything bottled up so tight will only result in an explosion, just like putting heat to a sealed vial. I know that behind the frowning exterior that there is someone kind, sweet even. And I shall repeat the statement to the effect that I believe you could be quite the gentleman if you chose it." She told him kindly.

"Come down to the lab and enjoy the night. Molly makes her cookies with love which makes them extra special and you can trounce me in a game of chess or two as I have limited strategy abilities. I am sure that even you will enjoy the evening if you do." She almost pleaded with him. "Sugar and chocolate cannot cure all of the world's ills, but they can certainly fix some of them. And I do believe that they can do at least part of a job with your outlook on life. I know whenever I am feeling down some hot coco and a cookie can make me feel better, as well as spending some time with my friends."

"Life is not that simple, you should know that after the War." He hissed through clenched teeth making yet another angry red mark across the paper in front of him.

"I could not agree more, but such things can help. Besides, how can you claim it doesn't help if you have never tried it? I am quite sure you will be pleasantly surprised." She coaxed. "What do you have to lose by accepting such an idea? Come to the lab with me and play one game of chess. And after that if you still think you are wasting your time I will leave and let you continue to grade your papers in peace." She offered.

He was rather annoyed and uplifted by her constant persistence and noted that she referred to him as a friend or being on friendly terms for the third time in their conversation. He knew very well that he did not show friendship the same way as others did; this usually meant that most people thought he did not like anyone. While this commonly held belief was not totally true, it was mostly true. The fact she was trying so hard to spend time with him and engage in something that could be considered friendship was just amazing to him. He supposed that he should at least give the possibility of a friendship a chance, though he still did not believe she knew what kind of a person he really was, if she did she would have stayed far, far away.

"Seeing as I will be getting no more grading while you are here anyway, I suppose that we could go to the lab and play some chess." He gruffed, giving her an almost angry look. "We might as well both have a comfortable place to sit."

He pointed his wand at the door and Warded it, then crossed over to his bookshelf and opened the way into the lab. He walked into the dark hall behind the bookcase and turned to Hermione. "Come." He said offering out his hand. Hermione gifted him with a genuine smile of happiness that warmed him and returned the tin to a pocket. Then she walked forward and took the hand he offered. He placed her hand in his elbow and guided her to the side so he could close the bookcase. Once it had been closed he began to lead her down the black corridor towards the stairs.

"See I told you so." She said quietly with a smile apparent in her voice, leaning towards him in the dark. "You can be a lovely gentleman if you want to be. Thank you." Knowing no answer for her comment he kept silent.

It was early the next morning, twelve chess games, half the cookie tin and innumerable cups of hot coco later when Severus escorted Hermione back up the dark stairwell and through his office. At his office door they went their separate ways to their respective chambers. As Severus went to his chamber he felt his heart swell with an emotion he rarely felt. He was happy, really happy, that Hermione wanted to be his friend. He figured that she did not know a lot about his past if she was extending such a generous offer as friendship, despite the troubling insights she had on his time as a Death Eater that showed now and again. He knew she would probably turn tail and run if she knew all of what he would really like out of a relationship and did not want to scare her away. As much as he didn't want another repeat of his time with Lily, he also knew that she deserved someone with a clean past, younger and more handsome than himself. He would be content with a friend; he could ask her for no more.

**A/N: aw, Merry Christmas Severus. he has gotten a present from Hermione, and looks like the chessboard got a work out as well. at least he was saved from grading papers on Christmas, what a bummer. **

**Hope you all liked the chapter, we will find out what his present does next chapter. Remember, I told you that the hair care products would surface again. grin. As always, but not always mentioned, I must send kudos out to my wonderful beta skydancinghobbit, she keeps my muse in check when it tries to run away and helps me to keep Severus sounding like Severus. Can't thank you enough 'sis'. **

**I would like 5 reviews please, until then keep enjoying fanfic- Dragons Quill**


	27. Trust and Requests

**A/N: hey guys, thanks for all the reviews. I really, really appreciate it. I would have posted last night but I figured I would wait until today even if for propriety's sake, that and the internet is super crapy at best. I may reside on one of the most wired campus in the us, but that doesn't mean I can get on the internet now they changed it over grr. Ok well enough complaining on with the story, yea!**

_Trust and Requests (27)_

Severus made the realization the morning after the time they had spent in the lab than he had not asked what exactly what the conditioner Hermione had given him was for. He spent what was left of the morning, after waking up at nearly noon (he was getting too old to pull all-nighters like that), debating if he should use the Potion or not. He normally would have immediately refused on the basis that he didn't know what it was, but he had to rather begrudgingly admit that he trusted Hermione's judgment, at least in Potions. She claimed to have already tested the Potion out and seemed to have come to no ill end.

Finally he decided that he trusted her enough to give her Potion a try. He got into the shower and finished his morning routine, even though it was almost afternoon and poured the Potion onto his head, rubbing it into his hair and rinsing it out. Two hours later in the lab as they were half way through the first batches of pep-up and hangover Potions Hermione spoke to him from across the room.

"I see that you used your Christmas present then." She told him with a smile glancing across the room over her cauldron. "I assume that you know what it does then."

"Perhaps." Was his grunted reply. "Why do you say this?" He glanced at her without lifting his head

"Because I figured that you would have figured it out by the time I finished brewing it, and you asked me no questions about it last night. I also know you would not use a Potion you weren't sure of. To do such a thing would go against everything that I have learned about you." She told him.

"This may come as a surprise to you Hermione, but I don't know what the Potion does. I have been far too busy to figure it out. What will also come as a surprise is that I believe you to be a confident enough brewer that I tried the Potion, despite that fact I am unsure of the intended outcome." He told her in a soft growl that held a delicate softness to the edge.

Hermione was stunned by what he said. He had all but told her he trusted her and her judgment. The simple fact that he had used an unknown Potion spoke volumes. She knew that the kind of faith he had placed in her hands was something immensely precious and to be prized. She knew he did not place his trust blindly, perhaps he was beginning to see her as less of the school girl she was and more towards being his equal. She also knew he most likely had subjected the gift to various strong spells in order to maintain that it was safe, as well as had watched her make the Potion.

Ever since she had gone through the penseives and begun to understand him more from Dumbledore's memories, she felt as if she was drawn to him more. He was the most intelligent person she had ever encountered, even though she had exceeded his scores, she knew it had been hard to do so. She also knew he was an interesting person with many layers, all of which she now wanted to explore. It was true his past was dark and she did not know everything about it that she was curious about, but she knew she would probably never see it all; no matter how hard she looked. Now ever since he had extended a small trust to her by allowing her free reign in his labs, even though he was there, she wanted to get even closer to him. She would not be averse to getting to know him _much_ more personally, though she figured that he would never agree anything resembling a relationship, it was far too personal.

"This does not mean though," he told her after a moment of letting her stand dumbfounded. "That I will expect anything but perfection from your Potions when you are helping me like this." He told her with the soft edge coming off to be replaced a sterner tone. "I also expect you will tell me what the Potion does."

"Run your hand through your hair." She told him snapping out of her shock and smiling at him.

"Why?" He gruffed.

"Just do it and tell me how it feels." She smiled again and turned her attention back to her Potion.

He gave her a questioning frown and ran his hand through his hair. "What am I suppose to be noticing." He growled almost angrily at her for being lead on what he felt was a wild goose chase. "It feels the same as it did when I dried it this morning after my shower."

"Exactly." She said with a smile.

"Exactly what?" he was becoming annoyed.

"That your hair feels that same as it did this morning." She told him. "I have timed how long it takes your hair to look as if you haven't encountered a shower in days when you are brewing. On that particular Potion it usually lasts until about your second ingredient. You are currently eight ingredients into brewing and you still look freshly showered." She smiled up at him.

"And if you made a repelling conditioner how am I going to get it out of my hair!?" He asked her with an almost deadly growl.

"It repels only a certain amount of water and most oils. Currently it is not as strong as I would like it, as it will only last a couple of hours of excessive humidity such as over a caldron. In order to get it out you only need stand under your shower head or stick your head in a bucket of water. It will cease to work once it has repelled a specific amount of water or oil. Your shampoo will dispatch of any residue the conditioner may leave behind. I would not be adverse to some help strengthening the formula though, in order to have all day protection from caldron fumes." She told him as calmly as ever.

"I figured that you might like to forestall anymore rude comments about your apparent lack of hygiene now that you are no longer a Death Eater and in many ways starting over. I for one didn't believe any of the rumors. I mean if they were true than you would have pungent malodorous air about your person. While your demeanor may fall under that category on many occasions, I can say that only when I visited you in Azkaban did I encounter such an air about your physical person; though at that time I know you had nothing to change that. Besides I think it might be interesting to see how long it takes some of the staff to notice, sometimes they can be as dense as the students when it comes to changes in those around them." She snorted slightly at her last comment thinking of how Ron had tried to hit on her again the day before after dinner; she figured he would never learn. Once again Severus found himself at a loss for a response. "So will you help me improve the Potion Severus? I'm sure together we could get the Potion just right in a few weeks, instead of the months it took me for my other Potions."

"Yes I will help you develop your Potion." He nodded looking back down at his cauldron, warmed by her gesture.

"Thank you." She smiled and went back to her Potion as well.

After the New Year came and went the second term of school began again, much to Severus' chagrin. Not only did he now get to see Hermione even less, mostly at meals, but he was forced to interact with droves of dunderheads again. He was though very happy with the progress they had managed to achieve on Hermione's new hair Potion in the time before and during the school year. It had provided him with a wonderful excuse to have her come to his labs on nearly a weekly basis. They would spend Sunday afternoons in his lab bouncing ideas off each other about how to improve the Potion and then testing. It had taken only about a month and a half between the two of them to get the Potion to last all day over a cauldron. Both were very pleased by the outcome.

Since the first day that they had begun work together on the new conditioner Severus began plotting. He knew that between the two of them it would not take long to perfect the Potion. He was impressed by the skill that she had shown in the lab and the potency of the first version of the Potion. With both their skill and knowledge he knew he would not have the Potion as a reason to keep her in the lab with him for too long. Finally after much consideration he came upon a plan.

The second time that they worked on the Potion together he brought out a chessboard after they had brewed a new version of the conditioner. Sunday night soon became their weekly chess match night in the lab whether they worked on a Potion or not. Severus felt very proud of himself for orchestrating such a lovely diversion for himself. The matches went on until the last week before finals began, when the castle went completely into chaos and would hopefully come out no worse for the wear on the other side of testing. Without the chess match to look forward to the week before finals Severus seemed to be even harder on the students than usual, resulting in the loss of House Points for everyone, including his own house.

It was a week before the students returned for the second term that Severus surprised Hermione with the reappearance of the chessboard. He had produced what she felt to be a rather flimsy excuse that he could not let her remain champion while in his lab. They had played twelve games of chess on Christmas night and somehow through her sugar, chocolate and sleep deprived haze, managed to beat him in the last three games they played that night. She had only smiled at this challenge and saw through his rouse. She knew that he was at least making some sort of friendly gesture towards her and for that she was glad. It would afford her greater time to delve into the man and to give him friendship that she knew he desperately needed and seemed now that she was offering it, craved.

The week before finals was chaos for all of the teachers, but even more so for Hermione. She not only had to prepare for the tests, but she also had to think about Prince and Lucy. They were now both two and more than ready to begin training. She was going to train Prince by herself originally. But now she had two horses and she did not think she could handle both at the same time alone. She did not want to train one this summer and then wait a whole year until she could start the other. This presented a definite problem. She decided that she was going to talk to Minerva to see if she could help fix it.

"What am I going to do Minerva?" She asked her one day. "I have two horses that have to be trained this year and I cannot do it all alone. I am going to need some help; from a woman if possible, Prince will have a conniption if I don't."

"I would love to help you personally," Minerva said, "but I am going away for the summer. I need to get away from here for a while; I haven't left the castle for any length of time in nearly four years."

"Wow!" Hermione whistled. "By all means do not let me stand in your way of getting a proper summer holiday! As much as I love this place I can certainly say that I would not want to be without a change of scenery or at least the option of it in so long!" Hermione told her. "Who is going to be staying here for the summer? Perhaps I can enlist some help for one of them."

"I can say that your options are very slim indeed," She said with a frown. "So slim as to include no women. There will be three people here on the grounds for the summer, including yourself. I am afraid you have to choose between Hagrid and Severus. I am sure that they both have their advantages as well as the obvious disadvantages. I am truly sorry that I could not be of any more help. I must also say, that I cannot easily tell either one that they must help you. It is their summer and their choice after all. You will have to approach them on your own for their help."

"Well, thanks for the information at least." Hermione said with a sigh. "I just am not quite sure what to do about the situation. For starters Prince will not be easy to manage while there is another male around. I have done some research into why he might be the way he is and the only thing I can come up with is the fact that he is still intact. I really do not want to geld him though; he is far more valuable to me monetarily and physically if he is left as is. He is just so territorial around Lucy and me. I think he believes he is the herd stallion and we are his broodmares. I don't think he realizes that I am not the same species as him." She sighed.

"I have introduced nearly all the men to him and the outcome is always the same, barred teeth, pinned ears, the possibility of striking. Ginny has told me that the guys have privately been referring to him as the horse that must not be named. Only Hagrid and Severus have not been introduced to him. Hagrid has been too busy for the most part with his classes. I haven't asked Severus, I have just assumed he wouldn't want to spend his time on such a thing; he always seems to have something to do anyway. We are on what could be called friendly ground I think, and I don't know if I want to risk messing that up. The worst part about this is I don't know if Prince will be calm enough for me and anyone who isn't a girl to even work in the same field together."

"Well, I'm sure that you will work something out." Minerva said soothingly. "I really am sorry that I can't be more of a help."

Hermione had expected that the week following exams would be the time to calm her nerves just a little, but she was wrong. Instead they nearly frizzled her even more. She had to grade an endless number of end of year tests, finish mountains of paperwork for each graduating student that took Transfigurations as well as more paperwork for each student that was in her House. She thought she would never see the bottom of her 'to do' box that she swore was charmed to be ever full. Along with the paperwork came her duty to chaperone the end of year dance and participate in graduation. Almost immediately after the graduation ceremony was done and she thought to catch her breath she was summoned by Minerva, who stood beside a scowling Severus Snape watching as the new graduates and their families left the school grounds.

"Hermione," Minerva said to her. "I expect that you and Severus can work together again as you did before the start of the school year. We will need quite a stock of Potions for the Anniversary party in less than a week. I trust you will be civil and allow Hermione to help brew Severus." She told him sternly. "I also expect that you will come to the party as well Severus. You must stay until after the speeches are completed at least, than you can go and hide in your dungeons for the remainder of the summer if you insist." She told him quite sternly in a manner that did not bode argument, even from him. The scowl deepened even further at this.

"If I must." He ground out between gritted teeth, not specifying to which statement he was replying.

"When will we begin the Potions?" Hermione asked Severus with a sigh. "I can retrieve the records of what I made last year and what was used so we can use them as a guideline." She offered.

"We begin now." he growled. "I already have the records and even working every minute of the next week we will be hard pressed to finish on time." He turned on his heel and stalked towards the castle in his graceful long strides, his robes billowing behind him.

"Don't let him drive you too hard." Minerva said to Hermione.

"Don't worry about me." She told Minerva with a smile. "We seem to work well in the lab together and will have the Potions we need done soon enough. Well, guess I'll talk to you later." Hermione said to Minerva and hurried to catch up.

Severus did not lessen his stride across the lawn, but stopped and waited for Hermione at the doors to the castle even though they stood open. Once she had caught up to him she noticed that he walked slower in the castle than he normally did, allowing her to more easily keep up. They walked in silence to his dungeon office. He silently unwarded his door and stood aside so that she could enter. Rewarding the door he opened the bookcase and offered out his hand, the frown having melted into a scowl, which she took with a smile. Once the bookcase was shut and they were in the dark Severus ventured to speak.

"It seems Minerva believes I will refuse your help." He said.

"Well last time she had me help you, you tried to dislodge me."

"Yet you are still here." He growled softly in the dark, squeezing her hand slightly in the crook of his elbow.

"I am." A smile touching the edge of her voice and she leaned slightly towards him in the dark.

"It seems she believes this is the second time we will have brewed together." This was both a question and a statement.

"Sunday nights and the occasional Saturdays are mine and accepted as such. No one asks what, where or who I choose to be with and I don't feel the need to tell the world about every minute of my life. Besides what passes between my friends and I stays between my friends and I, it need not pass beyond that if it is desired so."

"That is wise." Was all he said, but she could hear in his voice both surprise and thankfulness.

"You're welcome." She squeezed her hand on his arm reassuringly.

He had been surprised that Minerva had cornered him after graduation. He had been waiting quietly until he could approach Hermione and tell her that they would begin that afternoon preparing for the upcoming party. Minerva had told him he was going to need help preparing for the party and that he was going to have to accept help whether he liked it or not. Then she called Hermione over and informed her of the situation. By the way Minerva handled the situation it seemed obvious to Severus that she was unaware that Hermione and himself had come to brew on a regular basis together.

The fact that Minerva did not know this was puzzling. Upon questioning Hermione his heart swelled with a feeling scarcely ever experienced, so infrequent to be exact he could not put an actual name to how he felt. She told him he was her friend, and as a friend was afforded exclusive knowledge, so to speak. She kept their companionship private and between them, and did not feel the need to broadcast such a thing to the world. Because she was unsure of how he would react to such news being public, she had not gone out of her way to tell everyone out of respect for his private nature. How he wished he could express how he felt, but words escaped him and he could not do anything else but smile in the dark.

**A/N: ok guys here is the end of this offering. Next time we go to the second anniversary party and we find out who Hermione picks to help her train her horses. Ok well guys I would like 5 reviews please. Thanks to all of those who have reviewed so far, I really enjoy what you have commented. Dragons Quill **


	28. Responses

**A/N: thanks to everyone that reviewed, and so fast too. I really like it that you like what I have written. Here is the next installment of the story, poor Severus is stuck going to the party and we see who Hermione picks to help train Prince.**

_Responses (28)_

Over the next week they were able to successfully produce enough Potions for the party. By the end of each day they were both so exhausted that even though they would eat a light meal together after they were done, little if any conversation occurred. Severus though was more than happy with the fact he could see Hermione daily and for an extended period of time. To be in the same room as her was both torture and satisfaction. He wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through her hair, take her into his arms, and kiss her, but he knew he could not. She deserved much better than him, someone much younger, more handsome and with a clean past. He felt honored that she would consider him a friend, that would have to be enough for him. He didn't even deserve such a wondrous thing as her friendship, but would cherish it nonetheless. He did not and would not expect her to feel anything more towards him.

The day of the party they did not brew anything as they had finished the day before and other individual preparations had to be made. There were also the job of finding the guests that would be attending, places to crash; I mean sleep after the party. Hermione used her well earned 'day off' by sleeping in until she woke up and then spending time with Prince and Lucy before she started to train them. She finally made up her mind as to who she was going to ask to help, all that remained was to ask and hope for the best.

Later that evening she assessed the dress she had worn for the first Anniversary party. She decided that she would make a few alterations. Showering and put the dress on and she stood before a full length mirror. Pointing her wand at herself she lowered the neck line to a graceful V that hinted at cleavage and widened the spaghetti straps to a form fitting halter top. She gave the flowing dress an empire waist and then angled the layers of fabric that fell to her ankles so that they rode towards her right hip; a split to her knee. Satisfied with the form she added some color. With a twirling flick of her wrist she gave the bodice a deep midnight blue color that changed with each shear fabric layer to a lighter shade until the bottom layer was of the purest white silk. Diamond rhinestones looked like the stars thrown against the night sky above her waist and frosted the edges of each gossamer layer of her skirt, catching the light and twinkling with each movement. Throwing her hair up in a French knot she added a few more diamond rhinestones to add some sparkle and contrast to her honey colored hair.

As a final touch to the presentation she brought out the only real diamonds she would wear that night. She had found the necklace and earrings in her father's hiding place for presents. It was to be his 25th Anniversary present to her mother. They had missed it by only three days. The necklace and earrings were in silver settings and held three stones of graduating sizes on a graceful S curved bar, none of the diamonds were over half a kart. The last thing she added to the ensemble, though it did not go with the dress, was her medal distinguishing her as part of the Order of Merlin, pinning it to her left shoulder strap. With a final check in the mirror and a light wash of slivery blue eye shadow she slipped her wand into her garter and went off to the party.

Severus woke to the dreaded and yet far too familiar ache in his arm early in the morning while the rest of the castle slept. Looking almost frighteningly at his arm he saw that the old Dark Mark was the same dead grey color as it seemed to have faded to. 'Will this happen each year?' He asked himself. 'Must I be plagued by this forever? Have I not paid enough for my crimes?' He thought angrily. "At least he will never return." He sighed to himself lying back in his big bed all alone to stare at the ceiling, reflecting again, unable to get back to sleep.

At least the second year since Voldemort's defeat had been more productive than the first. He had been acquitted where he was sure he was going to be convicted. He had gained the trust and friendship of Hermione, and he had his old teaching position back from which to train and terrorize small children. He was not quite sure if he should believe that things were finally going to go well in his life, or if he should steel himself for the explosive disappointment that was sure to result if things kept going so well. He tended not to be an optimist, he had seen too much to the contrary in his life.

His preparations for the party that night were sparse at best. He really did not want to go. 99% of the people in the room would probably not be happy to see him there, and he could not blame them. He had been a Death Eater after all, arch enemy to them all, killer of Dumbledore. But he had been a spy and provided critical information as to the other's movements. The knowledge he had provided had allowed Potter to win against Voldemort. He would not have gone on his own, but Minerva had made it explicitly clear that she expected him to attend and to stay until the speeches had been completed. 'Keeping up appearances', she had called it. What appearance she was trying to uphold or to whom was a mystery to him, but he was unable to find a way out of the ordeal and obliged to attend. He wore his normal black attire minus the billowing teaching robes and made sure his hair was clean. That was it; he felt that no more special arrangements were necessary. He would have much rather spent the evening contemplating his time as a Death Eater and a spy working to take Voldemort down. Too many had died in the War to throw such revelry.

At the appointed time for the party to begin he prepared himself and walked resignedly to the Great Hall. Slipping in and finding the darkest corner he stood back to do what he did best, observe but seemingly not participate. After about ten minutes of his own personal pity party in the corner Hermione spotted him and headed his way, he did not notice her until she was standing beside him. How she had accomplished such a feat was a mystery to him, but there she was. He looked at her face from the corner of his eye.

"The speeches will start in a few minutes, they will most likely last for the better part of an hour." She told him quietly, standing beside him to look over the throng assembled. "The refreshments and the bar will be open all night, when it will stop serving is a mystery because I left early last time. I could not stand the idea of partying so hard after losing so much. Perhaps it will get easier one day, but I have too many memories that are too fresh to party too much, even on the occasion when we killed Voldemort." She lightly fingered her necklace remembering her parents with a soft sniffle.

Hearing the sadness in her voice he turned his head to look at her properly. What he saw caused him to pause for a moment. Sweeping his eyes from the floor to her face he was astonished. She wore silver high heels that laced around her ankles and a dress with a sloping skirt. Beginning at the floor with white silk and progressing to the deepest of midnight blues at her shoulders with a glazing of small stones that sparkled in the flickering of the candles floating above them. Her flowing hair had been contained in a knot and was also dusted with the reflective stones. Three jewels hung from each of her ears and her necklace. Severus felt that she was an angel that had fallen from heaven standing beside him. His breath caught in his throat for a moment before he could re-school his face to a look of impassive indifference at the general affair.

"Thank you Severus." She said with a touch of a smile touching her lips.

"For what?" He asked suspiciously with a scowl and raising an eyebrow.

"I could see the complement in your eyes." She said quietly.

"I doubt you saw anything of the sort." He grunted with a frown, but did not take his eyes from her, still looking at her appreciatively at her; still amazed at the vision that stood before him.

"It has been said that the eyes are the window to the soul." She said quietly. "I have seen much of what has been left unsaid in your eyes. You may frown a lot, but you eyes can tell a different story. They are far more expressive than I believe you know. I can see that inside you have a heart and it is not stone, don't change that." She smiled kindly at him, warming his heart, even though he tried for it not to show. Before he was able to make any comment their attention was drawn to the front of that hall where a small platform was set up.

What followed was forty five minutes of politicians blowing hot air and a moment of silence for those who had been lost in the War. A list of those who had received the Order of Merlin the year before was read, along with a brief sentence as to why and what class in the order they had received. Severus struggled to keep his face impassive when Hermione's name was called and the magical spotlight illuminated her briefly before the next name was called. He had not noticed the medal hanging from her dress before, as he had been so distracted by the rest of her. She was one of five mentioned in the death of Voldemort; Potter, Ron, Tonks, and Lupin were the others.

She smiled prettily and waved when the spotlight was on her. But as everyone else's attention was drawn elsewhere he noticed as her shoulders dropped slightly, fingering her necklace with a sad look on her face as she did. He wondered what she was thinking about that would make her both happy and sad at the same time, but did not feel right about asking at the party or looking into her mind. Once the speeches were completed he was more than ready to leave and hide back in his dungeons, but Hermione would not let him.

"Severus," she said quietly while everyone else began to talk and mingle again, the dance floor clearing and the band tuning up. "I would like to talk to you privately after the party. Well, I guess I should really say an hour or two, I don't plan on staying any longer than that, I really can't stand being around so many drunks for one thing. Harry made me promise to dance at least one dance with him; will you stay at least that long?" She looked almost frightened-ly up at him from under her lashes, hoping she had not gone too far in her request.

Severus contemplated this for a moment with a deep scowl, watching Hermione fidget with her skirt. He did not want to stay at the party any longer than he had to but, he also did not want to pass up the opportunity to be near Hermione for what possibly could be the last time until school started again. "I will stay one hour and no more." He told her with a soft reluctant growl.

"Thank you." She said with a sigh of relief and smiled happily up at him. "I will take no longer than that. I shall search Harry out in a song or two, as he promised Ginny the first dance. I guess I shall meet you back here than in an hour?" He nodded silently. "The time will pass much quicker if you would mingle a little." She told him kindly, he scoffed and waved her away. "Ok, well the food is good at least." She told him with a shake of her head and then began to wade her way through the crowd towards the other end of the room.

He watched as she went away marveling at her beauty and kindness. She was a specter of loveliness, youth and intelligence and she was willingly seeking him out to speak with him alone. He felt greatly honored and slightly comforted to know that not everyone in the world hated him; though he felt certain that she was unaware of his more damming activities in his past. If she was aware, he was sure she would have stayed as far away as possible.

From his dark corner he watched almost breathlessly as she floated across the dance floor with Potter. He found himself torn between loathing Potter and envying him. He wanted to hold her close and have her smile at him and him alone. Potter got everything he had ever wanted, it was far from fair.

'_Life isn't fair; you should know that by now._' The voice in his head told him. '_Just be happy with the time you have with her, it will have to be enough; unless of course you decide to grow 'some' and ask her to dance yourself._'

'I could not ask her to do such a thing, for it is never 'just' anything with me.' He retorted back to himself.

'_Your loss. Just don't be surprised if this becomes a repeat of your 7__th__ year again the way you keep going on.'_

Severus tried to completely ignore the voice and his already dark look about him got darker still. He really was not into the whole partying aspect of things, ever; quiet solitude was his forte instead. About halfway through his allotted hour Luipn came over to his corner and tried to engage him in some conversation.

"Hello Severus." He said kindly if not cautiously.

"Hello." He replied with a deep scowl, he did not more than glance in his direction, but kept an eye on Hermione who was now dancing with Ginny and Shannon as the Weird Sisters played a lively, faced paced song.

"I am glad to see you here. I am honestly surprised you even came at all. You have never seemed to be one for parties." Lupin told him.

"I'm not." Severus growled almost angrily. "But Minerva made it quite clear I was to attend until after the speeches."

"The speeches have been over for a half hour and yet you are still here." Lupin said also hinting at the question he was almost afraid to ask.

"I said I would stay for one hour." He said still watching Hermione as she and the girls shimmied across the dance floor consequently leading nearly the entire gathering in the Macarena. "I am a man of my word, despite the belief of many here."

"That you are." Lupin agreed.

"I would like to thank you." He told Severus after a few minutes in silence. "Without you I would not be able to hold a job. Wolf's bane Potion was incredibly hard to procure during the War and horribly expensive. What I was able to find was never as good as what you brew either. I am exceedingly grateful for the time you put in each month on account of my… condition, there are few that would."

"Far too many dunderheads are being awarded the title of Potions Master these days. Without perfection Potions do not work correctly and the risk that someone will get hurt because of it is high. Such a risk is not acceptable, especially at a school." Severus replied.

"I am grateful for your prowess and willingness to help. I could not agree more that risks of such great magnitude should not be taken. That is why I was more than surprised to receive my letter inviting me back to teach again. I did not accept until I was told you would be on staff as Potion's Master."

"There are few more qualified than one in your position to teach astronomy, one whose life is dictated by the moon phases." Severus said, paying him a growled complement.

"Thank you." Lupin said.

After a few more minutes in silence the clock chimed in its low baritone voice the hour and ended Severus' promised time. Hermione glanced over in his direction from across the room. He nodded and looked purposefully at the door with a scowl. She could see he wanted nothing more that to be quit of the whole merriment and revelry that was erupting around them as the ever filling (heavily spiked) punch bowl was being drained again by the guests. With a soft smile she nodded. Severus swept himself out of the Great Hall to nearly no one's notice and Hermione begged her goodbyes to her friends and left shortly after him. Hermione found Severus leaning against the banister of the main staircase, arms crossed and customary scowl on his face.

"Well that was pleasant enough while it lasted and everyone was still sober." She commented. "I am glad that you stayed."

"You said you wanted to talk to me privately." He said both a question and a statement.

"Yes, well would you like to come to my chambers and have something to drink, not spiked like the punch, we can talk there. I really got to get out of these shoes; they may look good but man, are they killer on the feet." She offered cautiously.

"You are inviting _me_ to your chambers to talk?" He asked unsuccessfully keeping the astonishment out of his voice, an eyebrow rising questioningly.

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "I don't want to intrude on your space and the lab is no place to go dressed like this. I don't want to kill myself on the stairs in the dark, and in my room I can get out of these shoes and not have to put them back on for hopefully an entire year. Other than that, the only difference between inviting you to my chambers and going to your lab is the location. I have nothing to fear of in the lab save an explosion, so I have nothing to fear in my own chambers."

"People might think something else." He said carefully with a scowl.

"Everyone is at the party and will be so drunk out of their minds tonight that they won't remember much of anything. Last year half the people couldn't remember how they ended up where they woke up, or with whom. Ginny told me the conversations over breakfast were most interesting. I was up and going long before everyone else." She told him.

"Peeves I am sure will be more than happy to inform the world of anything he thinks is out of the ordinary." He admonished with a growl trying to make her see reason.

"I dealt with Peeves three weeks after I got here." She said with a smile. "I had to do some research, but I found a spell that only I can remove from him, mostly because I'm the only one in the castle that knows about it, except you now. He turns fluorescent pink every time he gets within seven hundred feet of my chambers in any direction, including the floor above and below and I have made sure my Wards will not allow him through." She told him with an evil grin on her face. "I even threatened to extend the spell in include me so that he would always have to be on the lookout or risk turning color if he didn't leave me alone. He hasn't bothered me since that."

"You threatened him and he listened?" He asked truly astonished, his scowl disappearing and both eyebrows rising skyward. No one in the castle had ever had any real success and 'controlling' Peeves before, even the Bloody Barren could only do so much.

"Well not the first time. He thought I was joking until he got too close and was varying shades of pink for nearly a week as the effect of the spell wore off." She giggled. "He tried dropping things on me for another week, but then I threatened to include myself, then he cleared off." She smiled happily. "Wish I had found that spell years ago. Besides when did you start worrying so much about what people thought of you? I thought you didn't care."

"I don't care what most people think of me, it's not my reputation I am commenting on, that can get no blacker." He looked at her purposefully. "Yours, on the other hand shines quite well, especially when you consider why you have that medal." He nodded towards the Order of Merlin hanging from her dress.

"I thank you for the concern, but I am not worried about that. If I was I would not have visited you while you were in Azkaban or stood for you at trial. Besides people will believe what they want no matter if it is true or not. If anything people will be more adapt at believing I was drunk out of my mind or you carried me off. We both know the truth so I am not much worried."

"Just as long as you know the consequences that may result from you inviting me to your chambers; even if it is as innocent as just to talk." He scowled.

"I understand and thank you again for your concern. So will you come and talk then?" She asked him almost pleadingly, angry with his stalling.

"Yes." He said finally after a moment of thought. "Come along then." He stood and offered out his arm as he did in the dark hallway. With a smile she took his arm and he guided her up the stairs towards her chambers. Upon reaching her chambers he let go her hand and backed up a couple paces. She looked at him questioningly. "Your chambers, your password, your Wards. You are a powerful witch; I have no reason not to believe you have powerful Wards that I do not wish to interfere in."

"Thank you, that is thoughtful." She smiled and then reached down to pull her wand out from her garter. It was very difficult for Severus not to look as her skirt fell back to reveal a lovely long leg and knee. He felt his pulse quicken, but reminded himself she would never think of him in that manner, he was lucky she trusted him enough to be his friend. Mentally keeping his face straight and his eyes averted from her and the door he felt her Wards pulse, but not drop yet heard her door open. "Come in," she said drawing his attention back to herself. She was standing in the doorway with the door open.

"But your Wards are still up." He said carefully.

"I have invited you in; you have no worries passing through them while I have the door open to you. Once I close the door though, expect no mercy if you try to break in." She said with a smile. "You will likely find yourself buried in the far wall if you do, depending on the power of the spell you throw at the door." Walking forward he passed through the door unaffected, though felt the Wards flicker around him in acknowledgement of his presence. Closing the door behind him she smiled.

"Besides I have made them more powerful since the last time you tried to break in. Why you tried them I am not sure, but I find it intriguing you did not succeed." Severus stood stock still; she knew and yet chose until now to tell him. Why? "Don't worry," she said with a light laugh, "there was no harm done and I got to see how well they worked. I must say that your Wards are a dozy to try to outdo."

"You are trying to outdo my Wards? Why? And how do you know how strong my Wards are?" He asked both astonished and curious.

"I know you have powerful Wards because I encountered them. I had some time in the summer to explore the castle from top to bottom properly, as I did not have time during my schooling here. I came upon your chambers by way of hitting what felt like an invisible brick wall. Upon a disillusionment spell that threw me back several feet I felt obliged to see if I could produce something better. I had nothing better to do with my free time, so I decided that I would see how powerful I could make my Wards.

Ahhh… freedom at last." She told him as she removed her shoes and proceeded to chuck them across the room towards her bedroom door. About halfway there she caught them with a flick of her wand and the pair went zooming away into her bedroom of their own accord, presumably to put themselves away. She put her medal back in its place above the mantle and began the task of taking down her hair.

Severus continued to stand just inside the door as she fluttered around the room. Looking around Severus saw that her rooms were very similar to his own, disregarding the color scheme and his room's lack of large windows, it was a dungeon after all. He saw she had bookcases lining the fireplace wall as well as the walls through to her office space. Almost all her available space was filled with books and muggle photos of what he assumed was her family and moving photos of her time in school. He saw a few pieces of crystal on some of the upper shelves and most of the books looked well warn and loved. The room had a cozy comforting presence to it despite the overwhelming presence of red everywhere.

"Well you can come and sit down." She said as she placed her hair pins in a box on the mantle. "I am not going to make you stand there all night." She said with a smile motioning to one of the wingback chairs. Her hair hung in waves along her shoulders and he wanted so badly to run it through his fingers. She began to remove her earrings and place them in a small box with her hair pins.

Severus sat in a chair as he watched her finger the necklace with a sigh. "What is it about that particular piece of jewelry that makes you so melancholy?" He asked. "I was under the impression that diamonds were a girl's best friend."

"My parents were married nearly 25 years." She said quietly. "They died three days before their Anniversary. This was to be my father's present to my mom, I found it in his 'hiding spot' when I cleaned out the house. I guess it is a bitter sweet memory when I wear my mother's jewelry. It has been three years since their death almost a month ago, I miss them both greatly." She said sadly with a sniffle, she would not cry, there were other things to talk about. "They were killed in a Death Eater attack."

Severus stiffened in his chair, not quite sure what was to come out of this, it seemed he had opened quite the can of worms. Only his pride kept him from bolting for the door rather than suffer her wrath. "I am sorry." Was all he could say and rather mumbled at that.

"It was not your fault." She said quietly placing the necklace in the box with the earrings and then levitating them towards the bedroom door as well. "I would not blame you for their deaths even if you were part of the attack that killed them. It was Voldemort that ordered the attack and I lay the blame on him, not you. But let us not talk of such sad tidings, especially on the day he was defeated. I did not ask you here to talk of death but of other things." She sighed and sat in the chair opposite him, tucking her legs beneath her.

"Well I suppose we should eat something, or at least I need to. I did not eat much of anything at the party." She pointed her wand at the table between the chairs and conjured up a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of red liquid.

"What is that?" Severus asked eyeing the pitcher carefully, unsure of the color and purpose.

"Oh, that is muggle fruit punch, cool-aid, not spiked either. I would much rather have a clear head than get hammered any day. Just be warned that it is murder to get out of anything if you spill it, so be careful." She told him with a smile. Then pointing her wand behind her and opening the windows, she turned her wand towards the grate and a roaring fire sprang to life. "I guess you could say it just feels more comforting with a fire." She told him as he looked at her questioningly. Putting her wand on the table between them she poured herself and Severus a cup of punch and grabbed a sandwich. "Go ahead and have some, there is plenty for both of us."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as each ate and stared into the fire. As wonderful as it was to be so near to her, in her chambers no less, Severus found that it was also annoying. The whole reason he was here was because she wanted to talk to him and yet here they were sitting in silence. "So what is it that you wish to discuss with me Hermione?" He asked after the silence had stretched on for several minutes.

"Well, I am still deciding how exactly to approach the topic I would like to discuss." She said honestly.

"Then why did you ask me to come here if you did not know how to proceed with your conversation yet?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Because I have to know the information tonight so that I can have recourse if things do not go as I hope." She told him.

"And what information is that?" He asked, pressing for an answer.

"Will you promise to answer my questions?" She asked him.

"That is far too vague a question to answer. But I shall answer the questions I see fit and relevant. My private life is just that, private" He conceded with a careful tone.

"Fair enough." she nodded. "So, where are you going for your summer?"

"Why?"

"Please just answer the question; it certainly is not a private question."

"I will be here at the school."

"What were your plans for the summer?"

He was tempted to ask why again, but restrained himself. "I will be brewing and experimenting. I have some research that I have laid aside for nearly four years that I would like to pick up again, now that I have the time."

"What do you know about horses?"

"I know enough to get by. What is the point to this line of questioning?"

"Well," she said nearly reluctantly. "I need some help this summer, and before you say no please hear me out." She held up her hand as if it would stop him from speaking. "I now own two horses. They are both in the school stables and are two year olds, ready to be broke and trained. When I only had one I planned on this summer being his time to be trained. But now that I have two I know that I cannot do them both by myself, nor is it really safe to be alone while I work with them.

I went to Minerva a few days ago to see who would be available to help me train them this summer. I had been hoping for there to be a girl on the list because, well, let's just say that Prince reacts much better to women than men, but there weren't any other girls. She told me that I had to choose between you and Hagrid. After some thought I made the obvious decision; so will you help me train Lucy? I can train Prince myself if you will help with Lucy." She asked him cautiously.

"So Hagrid said no then." He said almost hurt.

"What? No! I haven't asked Hagrid, I'm asking you."

"But you said you made the obvious choice. Hagrid is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and an animal fanatic anyway you look at it. He is also much easier to get along with. He is the obvious choice in this situation." Severus informed her.

"No, he is not the obvious choice for me. While he is good in general and with animals, he is far too loud and large for the help that I need. I need to break them to ride, not break them in half. I need someone with grace, quiet power and a presence about them to help me. You fit the description and as for getting along, we have brewed together as well as gotten along well over our chess matches.

I must tell you though, that you will be on my turf when dealing with my horses, they are my babies. What I want in regards to their care and training goes." She told him both trying to sooth him and put him on notice as well. "I believe that whatever you don't know about horses or what I want done with them I can teach you, as long as you will accept my instruction. What I'm asking will not take all day, only a few hours five times a week. Saturdays and Sundays I won't be working them, everyone involved will need a rest. You will have time to yourself to brew. I really do need the help and think you the best candidate for the job."

Severus was not quite sure how to take her speech. He would have assumed Hagrid to be the obvious choice, for obvious reasons. But he did have to admit that her reasons for not picking him were valid as well. Her reasons for claiming him to be the obvious choice seemed to ring true enough on the surface, but he wondered if she had looked deeper. He suspected that she had, knowing her nature. What she had found that would have make her pick him was a mystery.

He pushed off answering her by chewing his sandwich more than usual. He knew that this was his chance to secure her attentions for the whole summer, which was more than he could ever dream. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with her, but he did not want to be obvious about it. Now here she was asking him to spend the summer with her, working granted, but with her nonetheless. She was even making every effort to make it seem less of a time consuming thing than it was, trying to convince him that it would not take too much of his summer; he really did want to get some research done.

"If you want to say no I understand." Hermione sad sigh after the silence stretched out. "It's ok, I will ask Hagrid then, he can help me somehow I'm sure."

"I have given no answer." He said with a soft menace in his voice. "I have no problem saying no if I so desire, silence does not always mean that I have rejected an idea, merely contemplating my options."

"Oh," she said in a small voice staring back into the fire, drinking her punch.

"If I was to say yes it would put me at least another year behind on my research." He said rather sternly. "I have been unable to do proper research in far too long. But on the other hand, letting you train two horses by yourself or with Hagrid, who I am quite sure has never dealt with horses in the manner that will be prescribed, would be putting you in a predicament as well. He is far more apt to baby and spoil your horses than train them." He contemplated his glass in the firelight for a moment, a spark of an idea flickering to life in his mind.

Rolling the idea around in his head for a few more, almost agonizing minutes for Hermione, he let a smile creep onto his face. This did not go unnoticed by Hermione who sat almost transfixed by the transformation in the man before her when he smiled. "You should do that more often." She said in almost a whisper.

"What?" He grunted scowling and glancing at her for interrupting his thoughts.

"Smile." She told him with her own. "You look so much more approachable when you smile, it really does suit you."

"If you frown at enough people it will drive away the dunderheads." He commented. "Now, to the task at hand. I have decided that I will help you on one condition."

"And that would be?" She asked carefully.

"Since if I choose to help you, my time in my lab will be greatly decreased, I will require your assistance. I have already drawn up a deadline schedule for my brewing this summer." He told her, he was going to have his cake and eat it too if he got his way.

"I am honored you believe me capable of working so closely with you." She gasped, not expecting him to even offer her the idea of his line of research.

"Likewise." Severus nodded in her direction.

"Of course I will help you." She told him taken aback.

"I will help you with your horses then." Severus told her. "When will we begin training?"

"In two days, once everyone who is going to leave the castle has." She told him confidently. "That way there will be no distractions for any involved."

'If she only knew.' He thought to himself.

"We can meet by the front doors at nine in the morning." She told him.

"Very well." Severus said. "Now I shall beg my leave as I wish to avoid a slew of drunken dunderheads on the way back to my chambers." He told her, setting aside his empty glass and rising from his chair.

"You can use the Floo." She offered, "You would be assured of avoiding the others if you want."

"No, I prefer to walk tonight." He told her walking to her door.

"Will I see you at breakfast then?" She asked rising and following him to the door.

"No, I have things to prepare. Good night Hermione." He told her.

"Good night Severus, I will see you in two days then." He nodded and left sweeping out of her door and blending into the shadows of the hall. Hermione closed the door behind him feeling her Wards solidify again. Grabbing her wand she banished what was left from their meal and headed for her bedroom for a well earned night's sleep a large smile on her face.

**A/N: well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would have had it up earlier in the day, but real life was kicking me in the butt, day two of college and I have a full load of homework already, ughg. Oh well, I don't think that is what you all are worried about. Some of you it seems have guessed that Hermione would ask Severus, but remember, it is not her choice as much as Prince's. we get to see how Prince reacts to Severus next semester. Can't give you all the answers at one time, that would be considered a one shot, and well, that isn't what this is, oh yeah that's right, you're still here. Oh well, now I'm just rambling, could be a side affect of the 2 hours of sleep I had last night, but then again not sure. oh well, 5 more reviews and you get to see how our dear little stallion, reacts to the new guy on the block. Grin. Ok, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, Dragons Quill.**


	29. Training Begins

**A/N: Well guys thanks for all the lovely reviews, I really like hearing what you all think of what I write. I know you all are eager to know how our lovely Prince reacts to Severus and how many pieces will one or both of them be in by the end of the chapter. ok well I will stop stalling and let you all get to the chapter.**

_Training Begins (29)_

Severus woke early on the day he was to meet Hermione. He wanted to make sure he was on time. Not that he usually wasn't, but some how he felt he should be there early if possible. Flying through his morning routine with practiced ease he arrived at the doors of the castle a full five minutes early. He opened the doors and stood to the side outside breathing in the cool morning air. He loved this time of day, when he wandered out of his dungeons early enough to experience it. Not that he was lazy and did not leave his bed this early in the morning, but it was he usually had other matters to attend to that kept him inside until long after the peace of the morning was shattered and the crisp coolness of the air burned off by the sun.

"Beautiful time of day isn't it?" Hermione asked from beside him making him jump, his wand practically materializing in his hand. She had snuck up on him _again_ in three days, how was she doing it!?

"Wasn't it _you_ who told _me_ not to sneak up on people?" He growled, angry at himself for being caught off guard and for letting someone see he could be startled. He returned his wand to his sleeve. He was wearing his normal school attire minis his billowing teaching robes.

"I'll try not to do it again." She said noncommittally with a grin, he scowled. "Come on let's go, I want to see how much you know about horses." She went to the bottom of the stairs and waved him down. He raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm and took his time coming down the stairs.

"We needn't waste the morning by running off and not noticing it." He commented as he offered his arm out to her when he reached the bottom of the stairs. She shook her head with a smile and took his arm. He had trouble keeping his eyes off her again. She was wearing muggle clothing; a pair of faded blue jeans and T-shirt that hugged all the right curves.

"You are becoming more and more like a gentleman every day." She chuckled. "Still rough around the edges, but I can see where you could polish up quite nicely."

"I will never be polished." He scowled.

"Come, come." She said. "I beg to differ. I have seen glimpses of a less guarded man these last few months. I won't be looking for the kinder, gentler Snape to debut to the world anytime soon, but I know that somewhere in there. There is a heart inside that isn't stone, I know I have caught the briefest of glimpses on occasion. I will treasure the moments that you have opened up and let me see you. I know that there are few that have seen most of what I have seen, either by your choice or theirs. I will also not betray the confidence such an act creates."

"I can assure you that there will not be any 'kinder, gentler Snape' as you put it, going to ever see the light of day." He told her with a hard glare and scowl. "The world sees me as a bastard and so it shall remain."

"Not the whole world." She said shaking her head. "But I shall not try to change what you think, it would be futile. Only you can choose to change yourself, I cannot make such a decision for you." She told him with a sigh.

They walked in compatible silence the rest of the way to the stables. Walking into the barn Hermione let go of his arm and entered into the tack room. She pulled two lunge lines and a pair of lunge whips from the corner and then came back out to Severus who stood in the center isle way.

"Well this is all we are going to need for now." She said. "All we need otherwise are the horses. Now where is a house elf when you need them? Winky are you here?" She called out with a snap of her fingers. A male house elf appeared in front of her with a soft pop, bowing low.

"Winky has returned to the castle for the day. What would the Miss' like? Perhaps I can help or go get Winky for you Miss'." He asked.

"I would like to know where she turned out my horses." She told him kindly.

"Winky has turned out your mare and the Devil horse in the clearing." The house elf said with another bow.

"Thank you." She told him. "That will be all." The house elf winked out with another soft pop. "Ok, let's go." She said almost too fast for Severus' liking.

"Hermione," he said sternly with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes?" She asked as innocently as could be.

"Devil horse? Is there something you 'forgot' to tell me about your horses?" He pinned her with a stare that told her quite plainly he didn't believe for a moment she had forgotten anything.

"Well, the house elves don't like him much." She said, admitting part of the truth.

"Why?"

"He doesn't like them?" She tried out.

"And…" he pressed. "There is more to this."

"They avoid contact with him."

"House elves do not just arbitrarily dub something such a name without good reason, especially in front of their masters." He scowled.

"Well, he has tried to flatten a couple." She admitted. "That definitely could be the cause for such a name."

"Yet Winky can work with him…" he pressed.

"Winky is a female, he isn't very fond of males." She told him. "That is why I will be training Prince while you will help with Lucy. I want you two to meet, but I will warn you, you will likely not be received well. He doesn't like males of any species at all it seems. But don't worry you won't have to deal with him."

"When were you planning on telling me this?" He growled.

"I felt it might be a need to know basis. I wanted it to be a clean slate between the two of you when you met for the first time." She admitted. "Well, we better get going, the day is wasting." She said beginning to edge towards the door, eager for the conversation to end.

"Well, where is the paddock?" He asked offering out his arm again with a resigned sigh. Hermione had both lunge lines draped over an arm and held the whips in her hand. She took his arm with her free hand.

"It is not far away." She smiled at him leading him out of the barn.

When they got to the paddock Hermione dropped the lunge lines and whips on the opposite side of the fence and opened the gate, whistling loudly as she did. After Severus and she had passed through she turned around and began to hitch the gate back up. Severus stood a few paces away inside the paddock.

As she was hitching the gate there was a thundering of hoof beats and both Prince and Lucy came galloping up. Prince immediately recognized Severus as a new person, an intruder and male, all bad things on his list. Skidding to a stop two paces away from him he scented the air, identifying Severus by his smell. As if he was unsure of what to do he flicked his ears forward and back, lying them down on his neck alternatively. He seemed torn between attacking and submission.

Hearing the horses thunder up Hermione whirled around ready to warn Severus away, but what she saw stopped her voice. Normally Prince's immediate reaction was to bellow, pin his ears and show his teeth. He had stopped and scented for what seemed like a long time and then he stood still. His ears betraying his emotions, he had a desire to attack him, she could see, but there was something that held him back.

Severus stood and watched the creature. He could see that this was an extremely intelligent animal, enhanced most likely by being bottle feed some very potent Potions for the first few months of his life. He did not understand what was going through the horse's head, but he could see that there were two forces at work. He could not use Legilimency on him, as the differences between the human and animal minds too different to make any sense out of it. One force was of obvious aggression, aimed completely at him, but there was an equally strong force holding him back from striking at him. He watched as the horse pawed the ground half heartedly and then scented again.

"Easy there boy." He said in a tone Hermione had never heard before. It was a soft warm melodic baritone, kind and comforting. She would have never believed it to come from Severus if she had not been watching his mouth move and sound issuing from his lips. "Easy now." He stood at ease, while the stress was still evident in Prince's stance. Lucy stood off to the side, behind Prince watching the scene unfold. Prince took a step forward closer to Severus, his ears still flicking back and forth uncertainly, but what he did was an obvious sign of aggression. Severus stood his ground and turned his shoulder towards him slightly. Prince gave back the ground he had tried to take. "I will not hurt you." He told Prince. "You have nothing to fear from me." He watched as Prince took his eyes from Severus for a moment to look at Hermione.

After a moment of looking between Hermione and Severus, Prince scented one final time, snorted and lowered his head, ears forward and let his tail droop slightly. He had relented and submitted. Severus took two steps forward and closed the gap between them to stand next to his shoulder.

"Easy now boy. That wasn't so bad now was it?" He said in the same smooth warm tone, gently stroking Prince's neck. He began to gently scratch along his neck until he got to his left ear. Prince went through yet another transformation, becoming like putty in his hand. Prince's eyes began to sag and his lip to droop. He leaned in towards his hand and was most definitely enjoying the attention. "So you like your ear scratched hu?" He chuckled lightly, sounding warm and welcoming.

Hermione could hardly believe what she was witnessing. The dark man and the dark horse communing together, with Severus standing between her and Prince. Prince had always made sure he was planted firmly between her and whatever man she had ever brought to the paddock. He had always also done his best to drive said intruder out of his domain while keeping Hermione away from them. She had also never heard Severus use such a kind and gentle voice, soothing and so unlike his generally angry, icy, discontented growl or bark he always used. She swore that if he spoke like that in the presence of ice that it would melt almost immediately. She suspected also that if he ever addressed her with that tone, she would be hard pressed to deny him whatever he requested. She must have been standing there with a look of complete shock on her face for what Severus said next.

"Come now Miss Granger, don't look so surprised. I have left my dungeons before today and know how to handle myself around horses." He told her with an edge in his voice again.

"But… you … him…wow." She squeaked in shock.

"As informative as that was, you will have to speak in full sentences so that others can understand." He scowled.

"He, Prince, has never allowed any man to touch him since I brought him here to Hogwarts. I have introduced him to nearly all the men in the castle, and he has tried to drive every one of them off. He has come very near injuring one; he just didn't know when to back off, even when I warned him that Prince was on the warpath." Hermione was able to spit out after a moment. "You are the only man he has ever submitted to. There must be something different about you that he likes. You should feel honored."

"I can see that he is testy," Severus told her with a scowl, "but I can hardly believe he has gone after all the men you have introduced him to."

"Well I would tell you to go talk to the other guys, but they are all gone for the summer. But what I can tell you, is that the guys have started to call him the horse that must not be named, if that gives you any idea about his normal demeanor towards guys." She told him, Severus scoffed slightly at this.

"I am serious." Hermione said with a scowl. "He has made it impossible for me to work with him around anyone but girls. I will not complain that you seem to be on his good side. Perhaps he will begin to see guys aren't all that bad after all. It will also do him good to be ridden by more than just one person." She told him. "Well, we might as well get started." She sighed. She reached down and picked up the lunge lines and whips. Walking over to him she handed him a set and then walked to Lucy. "You claim to know how to handle yourself around horses, and how you handled Prince so far seems to back that up. But you have yet to tell me how much you know about training horses. You have yet to give me a straight answer." She told him pinning him with a piercing look as she lead Lucy back to the gate.

"I know how to ride." He said rather reluctantly. "And I know how to play polo. My father owned a few polo ponies when I was young and made sure I could ride. He believed it was something that every purebred wizard should know how to do well. High-quality horsemanship is one of the few good things my father ever taught me." He looked more uncomfortable than normal mentioning his father. He turned his attention back to Prince and gently stroked his nose.

"Well that is good. You should have good balance; it is not easy to stay on a speeding horse, chasing after a little ball with a mallet. At least you are not starting from absolutely no knowledge on this subject. I will have to show you how to train though, it seems. I think we should go out onto the lawns near the lake, it will give us plenty of room and a pleasant walk." She suggested with a smile. "As long as you accept my instruction, you will soon be able to train a horse, as well as ride one."

"They are your horses, so I have little choice but to listen to your instruction if I do indeed wish to get some help in my labs in return this summer." He told her smoothly. "I expect that you will return the cooperation when in my labs."

"Of course." She smiled and led Lucy out of the paddock. Severus followed leading Prince beside him.

**A/N: well I hope you all liked my chapter and Prince's reaction to Severus. I know you guys are probably wondering how this change in reaction holds any credence to the summary, well never fear, wait a few more chapters and it will all be explained away. trust me, it will be very important later on *grin* **

**Ok guys, I would like 5 more reviews before I post again, not that it seems that it will be any problem for you all. *smile* I just love all my lovely viewers and all of those who are still sticking with me. **

**Well I would… AH! Back! Back! *scraping sounds* Back! Oh no, the real world is attacking again! *sound of door splintering* Back! Ok well guys I guess … I'll be back later! *sounds of the real world chuckling as the alarm clock rings to signify the time to do homework***


	30. Of Ice Moss and Arachnophobia

**A/N: ah well guys, I'm sorry it was so late at night when I finally posed again, but I have been fighting off the homework, evil, evil stuff. Oh well, here is the next chapter, had to lure my beta with chocolate for this one, she had and issue with my chosen title, shrug, not a big fan of spiders you see. Ok well here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. **

_Of Ice Moss and Arachnophobia (30)_

As the summer wore on and days turned into weeks, Severus and Hermione fell into a comfortable routine. They would meet at the front doors of the castle every morning at nine and spend the morning training Prince and Lucy. They would return to the castle when it was time for lunch. They would eat in the lab, discussing what experiments they were going to do that day and what changes from before would have to be made. The house elves had become used to the routine and would send them meals at the proscribed times. The arrival of the food was usually the only way they knew what time it was, as they were usually too absorbed in their work to bother looking at the clock.

It turned out that Severus was working on a variation of the Wolfsbane Potion. He was trying to find a cure or a longer lasting Potion than the one currently used. When questioned as to his intense interest, his reply was short and to the point. "I believe werewolves should not exist, but I do not advocate eradication by genocide. So I shall find another way." He would not discuss anything else along those lines. Hermione suspected it had something to do with the prank Harry's father had saved him from when at school. She did not press the issue as she didn't want to get thrown out of the labs.

The horses were coming along quite nicely in Hermione's view. And Severus was a quick study, accepting her instruction much easier than she thought he would. On the second day of training he witnessed Prince's normal behavior around men. Hagrid had come to the paddock when they were just getting the horses out. He claimed to have heard that Hermione was going to be training and wondered if she needed any help. Prince went off the deep end when Hagrid showed up and nearly went through the fence to drive him away. Severus was hard pressed to hide his shock at the sight and Hagrid was more confused than anything. Once Hagrid was out of Prince's sight he turned back to Severus and nuzzled his hand, asking to be scratched. Severus counted himself as lucky to have not been on the receiving end of a similar reaction. But it did not stop him from wondering why or what had stopped Prince from doing the same thing to him. It had been obvious the first time they had met that Prince had been on the attack, but he had submitted instead, to Hermione's and now his surprise.

Severus had been much more at ease and seemingly open around Hermione as the summer wore on. He always wore the same attire, minis his billowing school robes, but still wore the black coat with innumerable buttons, black shoes and black trousers. Hermione could hardly believe he could work with so many layers on. She was burning up in the sun as it was in her muggle attire. She would not use a cooling charm on herself when working with the horses, as it would not be fair to them. She would also not allow Severus to use such charms on himself when working with the horses either.

Three days into a heat wave near the end of the summer, Severus did something that she had never expected to witness. About half way through the morning training Severus took off his coat and shrunk it, putting it in his pants pocket. He wore a white old fashion, fitted shirt underneath his coat that laced at the neck. He even went so far as to loosen the lacing so that she could see a few inches of skin below his jaw. Hermione could hardly believe what she was seeing as Severus continued to work Prince in figure eights and flying lead changes. Hermione was glad she was giving Lucy a breather when she saw this, because she suspected she very well may have fallen off in surprise and distraction had she been working her.

Hermione could see from what was visible, that he was cut quite well. He was lean and muscular. He was also extremely pale beneath his shirt, contrasting sharply with the black of his hair and pants. She watched as his arms and legs flexed and moved, directing Prince to another lead change. She found herself wishing she feel those arms around her and to listen to his heartbeat.

She had always imagined him as a hard man, cold and unapproachable. Her time as his student had showed her that she was right, to a degree. But even as a student she had to admit that he was also brilliant, and without question very intense. She could also easily see where he had to be strict in the classroom; her time beside Neville in class had taught her that, as well as her seventh year. Now that she had seen the pensives and she knew more of what he had been through, she was amazed by his perseverance. Watching him work with the horses and now getting a slightly better look at him more relaxed, especially as he used that warm, silky smooth voice with the horses, she could say that she wouldn't mind him being a hard man; at least as long as he held her gently in his arms. Catching herself before she got too far gone, she remained herself that he would likely never see her in that manner. She was just immensely happy that he and Prince got along so well and he was willing to spend part of his summer helping her.

Most of the way through the summer, when Prince and Lucy were nearly finished being trained; Hermione decided that they needed to do something different than working strictly on the castle lawns. She wanted to have both horses to be comfortable in the woods and around new things. She had continually brought new things to them so they could smell them. She would rattle a can with rocks and made it so that they would stand still when patted all over with a rolled up feed bag. She felt that they were coming along nicely.

Prince was still more level headed than Lucy though, and that gave her only a bit of concern. She wanted them to not shy away from anything she could throw at them, literally. This was also about the time where both trainers and horses were getting worn out very quickly, due to the before mentioned heat wave. Hermione decided that they needed a bit of a change from their routine and made the suggestion to Severus as they walked to the stables together one morning, the day already promising to be a scorcher.

"Severus, I was thinking, I want the horses to be able to handle all types of situations. But so far all we have done is work them on the castle lawns. I was thinking, that perhaps we could spend the afternoon ridding in the Forbidden forest. It would be a way to see how they are in a different setting; as well it would be cooler. I will come and work in the lab all day tomorrow if you wish. I know we don't usually work on weekends, but as I am suggesting we don't work in the lab this afternoon, perhaps I can help make it up tomorrow."

Severus regarded her carefully as they walked along. He walked with the top three buttons of his coat already unbuttoned. "That would be acceptable." He said after an almost reluctant pause. He thought it might be nice for a change in what they were doing, but of course he did not want her to know he was enjoying himself. He found he was exceedingly more comfortable around her than he had been with anyone in a really long time and he found that he was, surprisingly, becoming more at ease with the idea.

They worked the horses as they normally did that morning. Severus once again took of his coat, driving Hermione to distraction, but she was able to stay focused enough to finish her job. They ate a quick lunch of sandwiches that were sent out to the barns and then they re-saddled the horses. As was customary each time they worked the horses, they alternated who rode which horse. She felt that it helped the horses learn the different cues as given by different people. They would both ask for the same things the same way, but by virtue of being different people, there were differences. Both horses were becoming very responsive to the different ways that Hermione and Severus communicated to them. On this trip Hermione rode Prince and Severus rode Lucy. They mounted up a few feet from the stables and walked the horses to the beginnings of the path that lead into the Forbidden Forest. The sun beat down on them both and Severus still was without his coat. When they got into the shade of the trees the temperature dropped to something much more comforting and the path was wide enough for them to ride side by side. After a few minutes of riding in silence Severus spoke.

"Was there anywhere in particular that you were aiming to go in the forest today?"

"No, I just thought to ride in the shade and to have a different footing would be good for the horses. It would also give us a break from schooling them every time we get on them." She said.

"Well then, perhaps we can check on a few plants while we are here. I have been wanting to check on a few patches of ice moss to see if the spores can be harvested yet." He told her. He knew very well it would not be ready to harvest at least until mid December, but he wanted to show her something.

"Ice moss?" she asked.

"Yes, ice moss; the spores can be used as a powder to stop bleeding in a pinch, though there are far more effective ways to stop bleeding. In a Potion they can act as a catalyst for various reactions. Perhaps it might even be used in our research."

"I have heard of ice moss before, but I was under the impression that it only spores in the dead of winter."

"Different varieties spore differently," he told her. "I have seen a few spore out of season when near a constantly cool area." This wasn't totally untrue; he had been able to force some to spore in June once, in a climate controlled pot as a college project.

"Alright." She nodded. "I guess you can lead the way." She told him with a smile, she wasn't convinced about the whole ice moss thing, and was curious to what he was up to. About twenty more minutes of waking along the path Severus steered Lucy off into the underbrush beside the path. Hermione followed. After about five more minutes and through a thicket later they came to Snape's desired destination.

As they came nearer, Hermione could hear the sound of running water splashing merrily over rocks. As they came out of the grove of trees Hermione made a soft gasp beside him and he suppressed a smile, though if she had been able to tear her eyes away, would have seen a smile reflected in his eyes. Before them there was a clearing with a small spring bubbling merrily out of the ground, and seemingly returning to it, as there was no outlet stream. Gathered around the pool was a small herd of unicorns. There were four adults, five adolescences of varying shades of gold/silver transitions and horn lengths as well as a couple yearling foals. As the horses and their riders came into to view all of the unicorns rose to their feet. The horses stopped of their own accord just out of the trees into the glen.

"They are beautiful." She said in a voice just above a hushed whisper.

The herd stallion was on his feet looking curiously at the intruders. He was a good seventeen hands at the withers and well muscled. A nearly six foot horn boasted old age and scars across his chest and shoulders showed the years of battles won against younger upstarts. He strutted towards Prince and Lucy across the clearing to inspect them, Lucy seemed impressed, but Prince was unsure of the whole ordeal. He had placed himself forward of Lucy as if to tell the other stallion '_Mine!_. He did not look overly aggressive, just not willing to let go of his perceived herd. The herd stallion walked up to Prince, acknowledging him as the stallion of the 'band' including Lucy and herself. Reaching out and gently touching noses they seemed to converse for a few minutes as if in a conference. Prince lowered his nose a fraction of an inch and the herd stallion seemed satisfied, but did not advance to investigate Lucy. She sensed that Prince had decided it would be best to show some subordinance to this new horse like creature with weapon included, but not to the point to which he lost his mares. Seeming stratified the stallion dipped his nose into the pool to drink and then continued grazing.

Sensing that the battle of wills was now over Severus suggested that she could dismount if she wished, and give the horses a drink while he 'looked for his ice moss.' She slowly dismounted and took the reins of both horses as Severus went to the far side of the pool and looked purposefully at absolutely nothing. The herd stallion looked at Severus as he passed on the opposite side of the pool. He scented and then tossed his head with a snort of what Hermione could have swore was exasperated indignation.

"Hello there." She said carefully as she led the horses forward to the pool. "I won't hurt you. You don't have to leave." The two young foals had gotten up and were now peering cautiously from between the legs of the adults, who were paying her little mind anymore. The horses, though curious of their surroundings were more than happy to get a drink as they were still quite thirsty, despite the shade. As the horses were drinking from the pool one of the foals got brave enough to slowly pick his way over to the horses. He stood at the farthest possible position with his neck completely stretched to its limit and still touch a stirrup with the end of his nose. When he had done this great act of bravery he gave a little jump and scuttled behind one of the adults, who she swore had a '_sigh_' expression, the baby now having a 'I'm far more important now' bounce to his step. Hermione giggled quietly and then heard a splash and turned her head to see Severus pulling his arm out of the pool where it seemed to have slipped. She tried to hide her smile as he was mumbling under his breath.

"I was unaware you need to swim to get ice moss." She commented, unsuccessfully keeping a straight face. "Though it is a nice way to get cool on such a warm day."

"Yes… well… sometimes the moss grows precariously close to the water." He huffed, pulling himself to his feet and spelling his cuff dry.

"Yes, well, I'm sure." She smiled. "Did you find any in condition to spore?" She asked, already quite sure of the answer.

"No, it would seem this water is not cold enough to sustain an out of season sporing." He said with as much authority as he could muster while brushing the dirt off his knees.

"Ah well, it is the middle of summer after all." She smiled. "I suggest we get back to the castle soon though. These guys are looking tired and I wouldn't mind getting into the castle where it is cooler. Perhaps we could have a chess game before we retire tonight." She suggested. They had abandoned the weekly chess matches for the summer; they were spending five days a week together after all.

"Well they are your horses." He nodded returning to her side as she handed him Lucy's reins. "If you think that it is time for them to rest, then that is what shall happen. I did make an agreement I would do as you asked with your horses. As for a chess match, well I can assure you, you will be unable to beat my record so far, no matter what you do." They had been keeping score on a sheet of parchment tacked up in the Potions lab. She suspected he was right; he had won three quarters of the games they had played already.

"Well, we shall just have to see about that." She smiled rather provocatively and mounted Prince. He mounted Lucy beside her and gave her a scowl.

"I would like to see you back that up. You may talk a big game but I have yet to see you follow through." He growled gently and with a shadow of a smirk; both a challenge and a tease. He gave Lucy a prod in her ribs and she walked on ahead of Hermione and Prince. She did a scoffing snort of a sound and nudged Prince to follow.

He had begun to let his caustic yet usually witty brand of humor show through on a significantly more frequent basis throughout the summer. She noted that he also seemed relaxed when they were together. The tension that had been readily apparent as he had first come to sit near her in the library nearly a year before was no longer there. He had slowly let the tension of her presence leave him and seemed that he was letting her see a part of himself that she was unsure that anyone else had seen. She was both flattered and intrigued by such a possibility.

Once they had ridden back to the trail and turned for home Hermione spoke. "Thank you for showing me the unicorns." She told him quietly from Prince striding beside Lucy. "It has been a long time since I saw one last. I had nearly forgotten their beauty, grace and innocence."

"You were lucky to see them like that. There are very few family groups in the forest. There is a limited number of mares and an overabundance of bachelor males." He told her after a moment's contemplation. "It was very lucky that they were near the spring where ice moss grows."

"I would agree." She smiled coyly. "It was very lucky." She still didn't believe it was just a coincidence.

After a few minutes on the trail in silence Severus suddenly stopped and threw his hand up in a curt manner, silently biding her to halt as well. He tilted his head to the side as if listening for something. Unclear as to what he was listening for she strained to hear what it might be. Then she heard it as well. There was a shuffling scurry in the underbrush and across the dry leaves of the forest litter. There was also a snapping/ticking sound that accompanied the rustling. Looking around cautiously with both apprehension and curiosity she reached for her wand. She had transfigured a sweat band into an upper arm band that kept her wand near but out of harm's way. Snape's wand nearly materialized in his hand. With light pressure from his heels he bade Lucy to step forward again. Hermione followed him a few steps behind.

Quite suddenly Hermione saw Lucy rear and give a squeal of bloodcurdling terror. Severus tried in vain to hold on and keep her from overbalancing, as it does not always hold true that a rearing horse will return to its original position. Prince immediately tried to bolt, but Hermione was able to shoot off a pair of spells in quick succession at the creature looming in the path ahead. The first caused the thing to burst into flames and the second was a modified shielding charm that sealed the flames close to the creature and did not harm anything around it.

The creature had been a spider of proportions Hermione had never seen before, at least not naturally. Its body alone was the size of a large German Sheppard. With the addition of eight long hairy legs its size expanded to that of perhaps a compact car in both height from the ground and width of stance. She did not blame the horses for losing their heads. Only the quick reflexes of one who had survived a War where speed of draw was everything, had kept her cool enough to eradicate the immediate problem.

Prince fought quite frightfully, trying to run away, but Hermione bid him hold his ground. She cooed to him and soothed him until the terror was gone from his eyes and he would stand, though he would not stop sweating. Lucy had fallen over in her fright of the appearance of the creature and had landed upon Severus. Lucy had then flung herself up and tore off into the underbrush beside the path in the rough direction of the stables, leaving Severus prone on the ground.

Jumping off of Prince and bidding him "Stay." She went over to where Severus was splayed across the ground. His face was even whiter than normal and his eyes were closed tightly, a grimace contorting his face. His wand was nowhere to be seen. "_Accio_ _Severus' wand_." She said with a flick of her own and his wand came shooting towards her from a few feet away, it had obviously flown on impact.

"Severus." She called tucking his wand in her arm band. She reached out and touched his forehead tenderly. "Severus." His response was an intake of breath through clenched teeth. "Are you ok? Where does it hurt? What would you like me to do to help?"

"No Miss Granger I am not OK." He growled angrily in pain. "I believe I have broken something."

"Well just lie still." She said pushing the hair out of his eyes that were still shut tight. She had been right; his hair was silky and smooth. "I will cast some diagnostic spells to see exactly how bad off you are. Then I will do what I can to patch you up."

"Great." He commented in a sound between a groan and a growl. Casting a series of diagnostic spells along Severus' body she soon concluded that he had suffered no internal damage from the fall. The injuries were confined to his right leg. It had been cracked in two places below the knee and once above. He had been lucky that none of the bones had realigned and split apart.

"We need to get you back to your rooms." She told him. "Then we will have access to the Hospital wing's remedies. You are extremely lucky you have only broken your leg in three places. You could have been crushed."

"What was it that caused her to do that? I caught nothing but a glimpse of something dark before she went over." He growled his voice husky with pain. He was trying to prop himself up on his elbows.

"Lie still." She instructed him gently pushing on his shoulder to guide him back onto his back. "I will splint your leg before you try to move. We don't need you to damage it anymore with movement than it already is." Concentrating on what she had learned during the War she pointed her wand at his leg. "_Ferula_" she said. Splints and bandages shot from the end of her wand and bound themselves around his leg as it lay on the ground from his hip to his foot. "That should hold until we get back to the castle." She said appraising what she had done.

"I think that it was a spider she spooked at, it was bigger than anything I have ever seen before. I really don't blame her for losing her head; it was the size of a small car when including the legs. You are lucky you didn't get caught in the stirrup and get dragged. I already feel bad enough you are hurt as you are, because of me."

"Horses have minds of their own." He hissed, raising himself up to his elbows. "I'm just glad it was a small spider and not a big one. Those things can be very nasty. Where is it anyway?"

"I just said it was the biggest spider I have ever seen. I killed it."

"Ah, but I have seen spiders with their bodies alone the size of an elephant in these woods. If your assessment of what you saw today was large then you have no idea what really roams these woods." He groaned looking at her astonished face.

"Well we have to get you back to the castle. I don't think I will hold my head if encountering something that big, especially not today. I am sure I can levitate you there." She offered standing up and looking at him objectively, weighting the options and probabilities.

"No." He hissed. His pride would not let such a thing happen. He was not an inviolate. He was stronger than that. He would not show weakness to others, even Hermione, especially Hermione. "I can ride. Where is Lucy?"

"I think she put herself back in the stables." Hermione told him. "And with that leg there is no way you can ride. Even if there was a way to get you up on Prince I don't see you being able to stay on. The last thing you need to do is fall off and break something more. Let me levitate you back to your chambers."

"No." He insisted in a growl. "If I cannot ride then I shall walk… or crawl. I do not need charity or pity."

"So that is what this is about." She sighed. "Fine. If you really want to get back to the castle under your own steam then at least accept my help." She told him putting her wand with his and knelling beside him again.

"I can manage." He growled. "I am strong enough to do this without your pity."

"I thought we covered this, you don't and won't fall under the category of those I pity. Besides, friends don't let friends lie as spider bait in the forest. If you don't accept my help it is questionable that you will make it back to the castle before dark, or even out of the woods for that matter. You probably wouldn't make it through the night in your condition. You need my help and we both know it. Please accept my help as what it is, a person extending their hand in your direction as a friend, because they care."

"I am bigger than you." He said panting from the effort to simply sit up straight. "You won't be able to do anything."

"Don't bet on it. I took a rescue class because I could when I was younger. I know how to help you without hurting myself in the process. Being a muggleborn has its advantages." She held out her hand to him. "Besides I won't tell anyone you had my help if accepting help is that traumatic for you. If it gets out you had help getting yourself back to your chambers it will because you told others, not me."

He looked at her hand almost as if she would take her hand away if he reached for it. Giving her an appraising look he knew she mean it. He wasn't sure if his pride could endure such a thing as this. But he also realized he had little choice if he wanted to get back to the castle. She was right even if he wanted to admit it or not. He reached out and took her hand she then took her hand out of his and instead grabbed his elbow so that he could do the same. After some painful and interesting maneuvering they were able to haul him to his feet and he leaned more heavily than he wanted on her shoulder.

"Tell Prince to heel." She panted after they had managed to get him up.

"What?"

"Just do it." She panted.

"Heel Prince." He said as best he could through clenched teeth. Prince flicked his ears uncertainly, but came to stand beside Severus on his right side.

"Use the stirrup as a second crutch." She told him. "That way you will have support on both sides." He had his arm thrown across her shoulder and she had her right arm around his waist. Her left hand held his left hand. He leaned into the stirrup after adjusting it to better suit his needs.

It took a few tries to get the hang of moving as a strange seven legged creature across the forest floor, but they were able to manage it. Prince quickly learned what was asked of him and an awkward shuffling between Severus and Hermione was soon achieved. The going was slow and it took nearly an hour to transverse what would have been a ten minute ride from where they were attacked by the spider to the edge of the woods. When they finally came out of the trees Prince looked pointedly at the stables, clearly wanting to go home for the night.

"Sorry Prince." Hermione panted when she saw this. "But you have to get us to castle doors first." Prince gave a rather disgruntled but resigned sigh and continued to help Hermione and Severus towards the castle.

**A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my long suffering and ever wonderful beta and fan fic sis, Skydancinghobbit. Put down the shoes, that's right, don't throw it at me, see I killed the spider, never worry. *thud* that's right back away from the bug spray, now just sit still, I don't mention large spiders attacking again. I promise. *glare from Skydancinghobbit* **

**Ok as my poor beta recovers from the hyperventilating from the spider episode I will say thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviews. I would like 5 more reviews please. I really love what you all think. hope you enjoyed the chapter. we get to see how Hermione fixes Severus up. Please review.**


	31. Into the Raven's Lair

**A/N: ok guys, I know I didn't post lat night, but ;it was Friday and I had a long week, I was most happy to crawl into bed early and get some much needed ZZzzzs. I had a couple of you worry that I wasn't going to fix Severus up. well what kind of author would I be if I did that? I just had to break the chapter up into two pieces because it was far too big to post all at once. Ok, enjoy the next portion of my story, and as you can see from the disclaimer, Jane Austin will also grace my fic as well. **

_Into the Raven's Lair_ (31)

**Disclaimer:**_ I'm not JK Rowling and I'm also not Jane Austen, if I was, man I'd look really good for my age. That said I'm also a young broke college student and the writing of this story did not and will not change that. Ok, read on now formality has been addressed. _

"We can't go through the castle." Severus managed to grind out through gritted teeth, as they shuffled their way towards the castle.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"There are too many stairs in the castle." He groaned.

"I can agree, but unless I levitate you I see no recourse."

"There is another way. No stairs just a slope."

"What? I have never heard of such a passageway. Where is it?"

"It was made for me, it leads to my chambers." He gasped in pain as his leg jostled against Prince. "It was so I could go to my _Meetings_ in secret. It is by the lake, in some trees."

"Show me the way." She agreed.

After another half hour of painful and excruciatingly slow going they finally made it to the lake shore and the clump of trees that Severus indicated. Going into the clump of large pines on the far side, they followed a small path could just be discerned. Hermione looked around confused.

"I don't see anything here." She panted. "Are you sure you have the right clump of trees."

"Yessss." He hissed through clenched teeth. "Winky, I need you." He called.

With a sudden and rather unexpected pop Winky appeared before them in the gathering gloom beneath the trees. "Yes Master Snape and Mistress Granger need of Winky?" As she was coming up from her small elfin bow her large eyes suddenly got bigger. "What is wrong with Master Snape!?" She cried looking at him hanging between Hermione and Prince.

"We need you to open the way into the castle for me." Snape groaned. "And then you need to take Prince back to the stables for us."

"Has Lucy come back to the stables?" Hermione asked Winky.

"Yes Winky will do that right away, right away sir. And yes Mistress, Lucy came back over an hour ago, nearly two. She did not have a rider, we house elves were very worried! You shouldn't do that! You shall scare us all half to death!" Winky scolded her hands on her hips.

"Look Winky." Hermione broke in. "We got attacked by a gigantic spider in the forest; both horses nearly had a heart attack, we are very lucky to get here in as many pieces as we are. Sorry we gave you all a scare."

"Well, if that is what has happened…" Winky started.

"Look." Severus hissed, interrupting what she was going to say next. "I want nothing more than to lie down. Open the way, have Dobby lie out three tablespoons of the Skelo-Grow in a cup and take Prince back to the barn. You can yell at us later!" To say the very least he was not very cordial and was giving her a definitely dark look even though his face was the same color as a new piece of parchment.

"Yes, yes, right away sir." Winky squeaked realizing she was not doing her job. She then turned around and walked under the lowest branches of the tree to the far left, closest to the lake. After disappearing for a minute Hermione saw that the pine branches parted in the darkness to reveal a stone archway that the tree seemed to have grown around. "There you go Master Snape and Mistress Hermione." She said with a small bow.

"Good take Prince back to the stables. We will call Dobby and tell him what we need him to do." Hermione said with a exhausted nod.

"But what about Master Snape?" She asked looking worriedly at Severus still pale and leaning heavily on prince.

"Leave him to me." Hermione said. "I can take him to his chambers from here. Prince needs to be taken to the stables. He won't go for anyone else."

Winky looked terribly upset about leaving Severus in only Hermione's care, but she could also not leave Prince out in the dark alone. Finally acquiescing to the fact that the young stallion, though exhausted, would put up a terrible fight for any of the other house elves, she looked up at Prince who looked back and she clapped her hands. She had obviously done some of her own training as Prince lowered his head so that she could reach his reins. Severus seemingly begrudgingly shifted his weight from being mostly in the stirrup to leaning onto Hermione who took his weight without complaint, but still a definite sag in her already weary knees.

They watched as Prince was lead away by Winky and then they turned their attention back to the dark stone archway in the tree trunk. They were a long three feet from the beginnings of a wall to help support Severus. Those three feet seemed to be the longest of the evening, but make it they did. Once they were inside the archway Severus called out again.

"Dobby, I need you." With a soft pop he appeared before them inside the tunnel. His large tennis ball eyes grew even wider when he saw the shape of the two people in front of him. "Set out three tablespoons of Skelo-Grow in a cup beside my couch." He wheezed before Dobby could speak. "You will also need to close the door behind us."

"Yes Sir!" Dobby nodded, his great ears flapping.

He did not ask what had happened, but quickly went past them in the tunnel and then darkness closed around them. Hermione could only assume that the tree boughs had closed back over the tunnel entrance. Hermione took her hand from around his waist as he leaned most of his weight on the wall and drew out her wand.

"_Lumos_." She said and light burst from the end of her wand. She put her arm around his waist again with her wand in hand. The light revealed a smooth sided, gently sloping tunnel of little consequence that went farther into the ground.

"I thought that my arm over your shoulder would be comfort enough in the dark." Severus panted from beside her. The three feet of unbalanced help still evident in his voice.

Hermione was rendered speechless for a full minute as she turned her head to look him in the face in shock. The dreaded Potions Master had just made a joke. Not only had he made a joke, but while he was without the ability to move under his own power. She could not see his face well, as it was thrown into deep shadows by her wand and the fact what lighting there was came from beneath. What she could see of his face would have defiantly given her nightmares as a First Year. But not anymore. The shadows threw into deep relief his large nose and high cheek bones, making his eyes look sunken in, but she could see the sparkle of his eyes from the shadows. Even though they were dimmed by fatigue and pain, she could still see just a glimmer of humor. It was something she had learned to distinguish in her time over the summer, seeing it most often in his eyes as he worked the horses across the lawn.

"Normally it would be." She said after a moment. "But seeing as the last time we could not see what was going on we had a bone crushing good time. And as much as I would love to repeat the happenings, I'm sure your leg had better not split into too many more pieces." She felt as he huffed at such a thought. "Come on; let's get you to someplace to lie down."

Severus was also personally surprised he had said it out loud. Normally he would have kept such a comment to himself. It would also have been said in a much more dejected manner in his inner dialogue. He would have not thought himself to be thought of by anyone, defiantly not such a wondrous person as Hermione, as a comfort in the dark. Though, she was slowly bending his personal thought of himself in such a position through their time to and from the lab as he would escort her in the dark. The fact that she had called him friend earlier in the day, and had literally carried him from the forest path to where they were was not lost on him. As he knew and had witnessed her being an exceedingly generous person, he thought little of her time talking and working with him. The fact that she had come to him as first choice over Hagrid to work with the horses was a tremendous surprise to him. Now she had helped him get back to the castle, and through his secret entrance. Well, he was not one to draw or create conclusions or connections where there weren't any, but he was beginning to wonder if there was not more to what was going on than what he saw. He quickly put that thought out of his mind as soon as it appeared, he had too dark of a past and as such should not put others into such a dangerous and lowly position as he was in.

It took another forty five minutes to get to the end of the tunnel, ending in a blank wall before them.

"Now what?" Hermione asked a little discouraged.

"Do you really think that there would be a door you could see?" Severus groaned. "Obviously you aren't thinking straight. Hand me my wand and turn out your light. This is something only I need to know about."

Hermione compiled with a bit of a scowl, both from the reprimand and the fact that he was right. She was used to having him open doors in the dark. He still had his rights to have personal boundaries. This was going into his private rooms nonetheless. She would give him his privacy. She handed him his wand and once she saw that he had it securely in his right hand she said. "_Nox._" Putting the light out at the end of her wand.

She could feel as he shifted his weight in the dark beside her. He took his hand off of her shoulders and turned a quarter of a turn to the wall to their right. She held onto his waist the best that she could, giving him support. She heard him mutter something in the dark and then he leaned back towards her, putting his arm around her shoulder as he did. With a soft noise a section of the wall beside them opened up. The tunnel was suddenly flooded with light from the doorway beside them. Blinking she saw that the door opened into the sitting room of his chambers.

She helped him through the door way and to the couch a few feet away, seemingly lined up with the doorway just for that purpose. Lying him down on the couch with his feet towards the fireplace she sat down next to him on the edge of the couch. She felt as the couch seemed to elongate enough for her to sit comfortably beside him as he lay on the couch, instead of teetering on the edge.

As she looked around the room she saw that the basic design and layout were the same as her own. The fireplace was along one wall with the rest of the wall dedicated to bookshelves as well as the wall they had just entered into, the bookshelf/wall had swung shut behind them. It seemed that the secret entrance door was similar to that which was in the lab and his office. Just like in his office and lab, every available inch of bookshelf was packed with books of all sizes and ages.

She longed to go an investigate what the Potions Master had on his private bookshelves, but she knew better than to ask. She was basically an intruder into his private domain. She had been neither asked nor had she been invited in, she had just come in. Granted she had helped him into his own chambers, but she did not think he would allow her the same free access to his own personal books as he had granted her in the lab.

His furniture seemed to be the same as hers, probably the school's choice and was in a similar configuration to hers. The rung in front of the hearth displayed the school's crest, but instead of being surrounded by a luxurious red, it had a deep forest green. She could see that there were two doors off the main room, one leading to a secondary office space and another, presumably to his bedroom. The main difference that Hermione could see between the two chambers, besides the obvious color schemes was that he lacked any large windows. The other obvious difference in the room was of course, Fawkes. He sat on the stand that had formally been in the Headmaster's office looking curiously at her from his perch.

"Hello Fawkes. I hope your day has been better than ours." She sighed heavily from the couch when she saw him; she was still trying to catch her breath. He cooed reassuringly from his perch, surveying what was going on with an intelligent eye. After a moment her eyes strayed behind him to take in the number of books again.

"You don't have to stay any longer, if you don't want." Severus sighed from beside her on the sofa. "Dobby should be along with the Potion I need soon enough. I'm sure that you need to get something done."

"That's ok. I will stay at least until Dobby comes with your Potion. Friends don't just drop friends and run when they are injured." Hermione assured him, looking back at him as he lay uncomfortably on the couch. She was not totally quite sure but she didn't want to leave just yet. "Besides I need to catch my breath before I go tackle more stairs."

"Well in that case you can pick out something to read in the mean time." He said with a weak wave towards the bookshelves. "Just make sure to put the book back where you find it when you are done.

Besides you can hardly say that you just dropped me. You practically carried me most of the way from the forest." He told her this through gritted teeth, wither from the pain from his leg or his pride she was not sure.

Hermione got off the couch with a sigh and began to look with much interest at the books along the walls. She could see that he had many different wizard writers and to her surprise a few contemporary muggle writers. He also had quite a few of the classic muggle writers. The subjects that his collection spanned was enormous. Everything from philosophical writings to manuals on the inner workings of pocket watches (wind up not electronic). There was also a small section that had some fiction. Running her eyes along the spines, her gaze came to rest on a particularly interesting, and she believed to be out of place, line of books.

"Jane Austen?" She asked looking back at him on the couch. He was watching her intently, perhaps just as intently as she had been surveying his book collection.

"Yes, Jane Austen. What about it?"

"I just didn't expect that you would be one to read her." Hermione said with a shrug. "It is just a surprise to me."

"There are probably more surprises if you were to look farther into my collection." Severus commented.

"Well that very well may be, but I don't think that will be happening with any great fervor tonight." She sighed. She reached out and pulled _Pride and Prejudice_ off the shelf. "I guess the only other question I have is; have you read it?" She indicated the book she was holding.

"Of course, if I have a book, I have read it at least once." Severus huffed from the depths of the couch.

"Just asking." She shrugged and began to meander her way back to the couch as it was the closest place to sit. As she got close to the couch Dobby appeared with a pop, holding a glass with a steaming Potion in it.

"Here you go Professor Snape, the Potion that you asked for." Dobby said his big eyes shining. "Three tablespoons as requested sir. Hello again Mistress Granger." She nodded in response.

"Thank you Dobby that will be all." Severus groaned, propping himself up on one elbow and reaching out for the glass. Dobby put it in his hand and then with a pop was gone. Severus looked at the glass with disgust. Hermione knew what he was thinking; she had thought the very same thing at least once during the War. 'Is this horrid stuff really worth it?' The problem was, the answer was yes, but you would have to endure the taste of the atrocious Potion for far too long. Why was it that all the stuff that was 'good' for you had to taste so horribly bad!?

"It really is worth it." She said as she sat down next to him, he was still looking into the glass as if he could divine something from the smoking dark depths of the Potion. His response was a disgruntled distracted grunt.

Then without warning he shut his eyes and downed the Potion in what seemed like one gulp. Then just as unexpectedly as he had taken the Potion he also made to throw the cup towards the fireplace with his eyes still closed. From shock she did not draw her wand immediately, but she was able to catch the glass before it hit the masonry and burst into a thousand glass shards. "Now, now Severus is that any way to treat good crystal?" She asked as she levitated the glass onto the small table between the wingback chairs. Fawkes watched with seemingly amusement as the glass had passed him and then back again to the table.

"Hey?" He grunted, opening his eyes. "Why didn't it break?"

"That was your intention?" She asked.

"Yes, the sound of shattering glass always makes me feel better." He told her, easing himself back down.

"Well it usually gets my nerves in a knot, and I'm also quite sure Fawkes would appreciate it if you didn't chuck stuff at him. Right Fawkes?" She looked at Fawkes who was suddenly very interested in preening his wing feathers and too busy to respond. "Wonderful help you are." She grumbled at him. He gave a coo of nearly laughing agreement and continued with his feathers. "Oh well," she sighed. "It's a conspiracy, a conspiracy I tell you." She then opened the book and began to read. She felt rather strange after a moment and then looked at Severus, he was watching her. "What?" She asked.

"I was just thinking, I haven't read that book in a while." He commented with a shrug, closing his eyes.

"And…?" She asked. He shrugged, a shadow of a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "Well if you wanted me to read it to you, you could have just asked." She scolded him half heartedly. "Fine." She said with a sigh.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Then with a smile she looked over her shoulder at him. "Well, is it true?" She asked.

"What?" He asked.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. So is it true?"

"I am neither young nor do I possess a fortune."

"Didn't say anything about being young." Hermione pointed out. "And as for a fortune, you have a very old family estate and I am quite sure it came with some old money. But besides that, you are a Potions Master. I know you have patents on a few Potions. The residuals all have to add up to something. But that is beside the point."

"That hardly qualifies as a fortune." He grumbled.

"Well, it all depends on who you ask and how much money they have at the time." She shrugged with a smile. She continued to read to him for perhaps about another hour and a half.

Severus let her voice wash over him. He had come to realize that he indeed did not find her voice irritating as he had when she was a student; in fact he enjoyed the sound of her voice very much. Perhaps it was because in class she was the only one who knew the answers. As much as it had first astonished him that there was at least one student that knew what he asked for, he was highly annoyed by the fact she seemed to have the need to push the knowledge that she had the knowledge, up everyone's noses. He found that as he had observed now that she carried herself in a manner that stated she was knowledgeable and self reliant person, not needing the constant praise of her fellow teachers to feel worthwhile.

He found as he was laying on the couch listening to her read and trying not to fall asleep he wouldn't mind having her voice being the first thing he heard in the morning and the last thing he heard before he went to bed at night. As he was thinking that thought he also realized that he could never ask her to do that. Not only did he want to scare her away, because who would want to ever be connected with a man like him, ugly, cantankerous and with a past darker than a black hole. But he also figured he would never get up the courage to bear his heart to another soul as such a proposal would require. His heart had endured enough pain as it was to last a hundred lifetimes. He would have to be content that she offered him friendship.

As he was listening to her he heard Fawkes begin to hum from his perch across the room. He thought very little of it. He was so used to Fawkes humming and singing he hardly noticed it anymore. Almost every night he would sing and he would feel himself slipping away into the warm, comforting embrace of peaceful sleep. After a minute or two of Fawkes' singing he realized that he no longer heard Hermione speaking. Opening an eye he saw that her head was drooping towards her chest and the book hung from her hand, barely being held. She swayed lightly as she sat, as if she was fighting to stay upright.

Without thinking he took the wand that was tucked into his waist band. With a quick flick he had taken the book from her hand and placed it on the table beside the couch and then he guided her down to lie on the couch beside him. He put his wand beside the book; her wand was already on the table and settled down beside her, Fawkes' song lulling him to sleep before he really had a chance to think about what had just happened.

**A/N: well I do believe that was worth the wait, don't you? Severus and Hermione sleeping on the couch, most defiantly helped along by our dear meddling friend Fawkes. Perhaps his time with Dumbledore rubbed off on him. Anyway, next chapter deals with what happens when they wake up. Hermione and Snape both didn't think very much about falling asleep together on the couch, that seemed to suit Fawkes' design. What will they do when they wake up?**

**I would like to have 5 more reviews and then you can all find out. I really love to hear what you all think about what I write. Oh and Skydancinghobbit would like to thank oscarxena for the gift of the basilisk, she is always on the look out for new pets.**


	32. So Close and Yet so Very Far Away

**A/N: wow you guys, you really seem to like what I have written from the overwhelmingly fast response to my posts. I would like say thanks for the reviews, especially those anonymous reviews who I can not thank on a more direct manner. Ok, well lets see how they react when they wake up. **

_So close, yet so very far away _(32)

Feeling the weight of another body resting against him and the soft sounds of sleeping Severus woke with a start the next morning. He realized that he was not in his own bed and wondered vaguely why he had slept as well as he did. His time as a spy had taught him to not sleep when dealing with a new and/or possibly deadly event, or in a place he did not trust. Then he stirred and opened his eyes a sliver, looking at the space beside him. He saw that he was lying on his couch with Hermione alongside him and memories of the day before come flooding back to him.

They had been attacked by a large spider and the horses had freaked out. This left him with his leg broken in three places and no way to get himself back to his chambers. Hermione had not left him; she had nearly carried him the entire way back. She had stayed with him until Dobby had arrived with his Potion, and had then read to him until Fawkes had seen it fit to sing a lullaby. Now she lay beside him sleeping.

As he shifted she made a small noise and snuggled closer to him, her face into his side and one arm thrown over his chest. She had gathered the folds of his shirt into her hand and held him close. There was a slight upturn to the corners of her mouth. To Severus she was the picture of peace, and goodness, despite the fact her hair was a tussled mess and she was in desperate need of a shower. He knew he needed one terribly bad as well.

He found that he had also thrown one arm over her trunk as well. Almost as an impulse he shifted his face down closer to the top of her head and breathed deep. She smelled of horse, sweat and a lingering of her shampoo beneath. Beneath it all was a scent that was distinctively her, a warm tang of goodness and acceptance. He felt a prang of protectiveness for her as she lay so helpless and trusting beside him. He realized that she must trust him implicitly as she had been claiming to lose consciousness not only in his presence, but beside him. With this realization also came the revelation that he must also trust her, perhaps not implicitly, but obviously with little reserve.

All through his time as a spy he had perfected the art of sleeping with one eye open and alert at all times whenever he was around anyone. The fact that he had slept so well, like a rock, beside Hermione, even if he didn't count Fawkes' lullaby, was something to give him pause at least. He realized that he would have no problems sharing his life and his bed with Hermione if he had a choice. He was though unclear if what he was feeling was love, or contentment regarding the fact that there was someone who trusted him enough to sleep beside him.

The problem came from two fronts though. He did not know if Hermione would see what had just happened the same way, or if in fact she saw little or no problem with these happenings, if he would allow it to happen. He did not believe that it would be right to ask her to tie her life to his. His past was too dark and his ability to express himself in a 'normal way' too stunted. No woman in their right mind would ever want to associate like that with him. He couldn't blame them.

She stirred beside him and he made a split second decision. He would lie still and see her reaction to the situation; he would let her make the first move.

Hermione had slept like a log. The last thing she remembered of the day before was a haunting, comforting melody cutting through her attention to the story before her. The proceedings beyond that were more a blur of inclinations and shadows. As she slowly began to regain consciousness she came to the startling realization and then immediately wakefulness. She found that she was not in her bed, not even in her own chambers. She was lying beside the Potions Master, on his couch, in his chambers. Not only was she lying next to him, but she was snuggled to his chest, clutching part of his shirt in her hand. He had thrown an arm around her side and he seemed to have molded his body to fit the shape of hers. This was never a position she ever expected to be in.

First of all, she had never envisioned herself actually being invited into his rooms in the first place. Though, if you really wanted to be technical, she had dragged him into his rooms and not really been invited, per-say. Second, the fact that Severus had accepted her sitting so close to begin with and then allowing her to lie beside him in slumber was astonishing. It seemed obvious that he had slept as well, as she could still hear the gentle breathing and if she was very quiet she could hear his heart beating near her ear. Taking a deep breath with her nose still nestled beside his chest she made a quiet sigh. He smelled of horses, sweat and the tangy male musk. She could also almost smell his power and determination as well. She found the combination to be very sexy.

The fact that he had both allowed her to sleep beside him and that he had slept as well came as a surprise to her. She would have expected him to have driven her off before he fell asleep. But the fact that he had lost consciousness, and as such, control over the situation, while she was beside him gave her hope. Perhaps he would see her as someone equal to himself and as a partner. He seemed to now have some trust in her; he had used her Potion without complete knowledge of it, and now slept beside her. She felt trust was an important building block for a foundation for any relationship. The problem now came in, was would he accept and acknowledge a relationship with her.

The only problem she thought about though in the short run, was how would he react when he woke up? Would he be accepting of the trust now between them, or would he try to drive her away? Well, she figured, there was no time like the present to figure things out. Besides, they could not lie on the couch all day and she wanted nothing more than to get a shower to get the grime from the long trek from the woods off.

Uncurling her hand from his shirt and laid her hand against his chest, feeling the lean muscles beneath her hand. She turned her head and pushed herself up on her arm to look at his face. His eyes were closed, but she suspected that he might actually be awake. She could feel as his muscles tightened under her touch. Looking at his face she saw that as he rested the deep lines and furrowed brow had smoothed. The nose that everyone seemed to make fun of, she could see was not really all that big. It may have been large on another's face but it fit his face, giving him a distinguished look about him. She had the vague inclination, or perhaps it was just a fantasy; and wondered what would happen if she kissed him right on the end of his nose, right then and there. But just as he thought such a thing, she also knew she didn't have the courage or the relationship with him to do such a brazen thing. He very well might sit up and clobber her for no other reason than shock.

Feeling she must do something and not wanting to jump off the couch and send the wrong message she made a decision. Reaching up with the hand that had been on his chest she moved the hair that had fallen over his face. With this came an almost startled jump from beside her. His eyes flew open and looked down at her and into her face. She had pulled her hand away at the same instant that he jumped. She looked almost frightenedly back at his face as he scowled at her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked carefully, resting her hand onto his chest lightly. "Did you sleep well?" He looked at her with mild shock in his eyes. Figuring this might go south she tried to fix the situation. "I'm sorry I intruded into your private space." She said. "I guess I was more tired than I thought. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I should not have trespassed, I'm sorry." She cast her eyes down from his face.

"I feel well." He said after a moment, looking at her worried face. "I slept uncommonly well." He admitted. "Your presence was not as unwelcome as I would have expected." Lying beside her so comfortably he could not bring himself to drive her a way just yet. He had never had the opportunity to be so close to a woman as he now was next to Hermione and he did not want it to end yet. He watched as her face registered shock from his words.

"I'm glad." Was all she was able to say before she began to look around, slightly unsure of how to respond. "Where is my wand? And where did the book go I was reading?" She chose to change the subject.

"They are both on the table." He said pointing to the table near his head at the end of the couch where both their wands and the book sat.

"You allowed me to stay and slept without your wand at your side?" She asked in amazement, not meaning to say it out loud.

"I did not believe I would need it." He said carefully after a moment.

"Thank you." She said with a blush. "For your trust in me."

"Thank you for helping me here. There are many that would not have done such a selfless thing." He commented.

"I couldn't just leave you there." She said in horror.

"I am sure that there are many that would have."

She frowned sadly at him. She knew he was right. "Well let's see how your leg is, shall we?" She said changing the subject again. "_Accio Wand._" Her wand flew to her palm. She did not get up, but continued to stay close to him. She sat up beside him and cast a diagnostic spell to diagnose broken bones. As expected he came up clean. "Good news, you're all better." She smiled at him.

"Good." He grunted, pulling himself up to sit. "I shall go get a shower."

"So shall I." She agreed pulling at her hair, making a face. "Are we going to be working in the lab like was suggested yesterday, or is something different going to happen?"

"We will work in the lab." He said, then, with a pause, followed this with a comment she never expected to hear. "I will have the house elves set up breakfast here. They will appreciate having to deliver food to only one place today I am sure. Besides, it would make it easier to know when we can go to the lab. I will leave the Floo unwarded for your rooms until you get back." With a beckoning of his fingers and the book came into his hand.

"You may borrow this is to read." He said. "But you must put it back when you are done, unlike last time you borrowed it." He handed to her with a stern look and put the book in her lap. With another beckoning, and still not looking over his shoulder, his wand came flying into his hand from the table. Then he pointed it towards his once injured leg and the bindings came off. He messaged his leg with his hand and then stretched his leg out. Hermione just sat and stared at him in wonder.

"You know wandless magic?" Was the only thing that she could think to say when she found her tongue again.

"Yes." He nodded.

"I didn't know that."

"That was obvious from your question. I have kept it as such until now, only a select few know of my abilities."

"I am flattered that you consider me to be someone that you can entrust such knowledge." She said.

"I do not entrust, I allow the knowledge to be gained." He got up off the couch and walked towards one of the doors across the room. "The Floo Powder is in the jar on the mantle. The house elves should have breakfast ready soon, I am quite sure you don't want to eat the food when it is stone cold." He looked over his shoulder with a small smirk as he walked towards the door that went through to his bathroom. Then he was gone.

**A/N: well, I hope that you guys liked what I have written. hum, things are looking up, sort of. Nobody has admitted anything yet, but at least things seem to be going ok. I would like to have five more reviews before I post again and you all get to see what happens next. As always, thanks to my wonderful beta, skydancinghobbit for putting up with me. **


	33. Order of Merlin

**A/N: man you guys are awesome, so many reviews so quickly! thanks to everyone that has reviewed. This chapter deals with the next term and something I have wanted Severus to get, I believe he deserved it. **

_Order of Merlin_ (33)

All too soon the summer ebbed away and turned into fall. With the changing of the seasons came the inevitable siege of students upon the castle and Severus' nerves. The training of Lucy and Prince came to a screeching halt about three weeks before the war on underage wizard ignorance recommenced. The other teachers had begun to return from their summer holidays and Minerva began pressing for lesson plans and the Hospital wing's Potion stores to be replenished. They could no longer continue their leisurely and fully enjoyed training and trail riding into the forest, and Severus had to begin to make the required Potions in place of his research.

Severus had quite nearly told Hermione she was required to help him restock the Hospital wing stores and during this time came the reintroduction of the chess board. Since Severus was such a private person he did not really enjoy the possible gossip that would arise from Hermione and him riding into the forest and not returning until many hours later. He did not feel that his private life needed to be under such scrutiny. He also could not find very much time to even ride Prince or Lucy as it was. Hermione had assured that it was alright, she and Ginny would take trail rides sometimes instead. She had though expressed a great sympathy that he did not go with her, she had claimed that she would forgive his lack of time in light of the fact they once again had their heated chess battles in the lab once a week.

He had also made it clear that she could come with him to his lab on a weekly basis, which she usually took advantage of. She had also entered his chambers a few more times in the first term, to return books she had borrowed from his collection. He had allowed her to choose one book from his collection to read at a time. She had been concentrating on his fiction section, reading though the collection of Jane Austen books he had, as she had only owned one of her books. He had always offered her something to drink when she was there and whenever she went to pick out a book it usually ended up being a two hour excursion, when it really only had to take a few minutes. He would ask about her opinion on the book she had just read and what she had thought of the characters. She would ask him similar questions and enjoyed the time that was spent in the Wingback chairs before the fireplace discussing literature. She had only been back to his chambers four times during the first term. She had not been able to read the books she borrowed as fast as she would have liked, due to the mountains of grading and essays she assigned.

The first term seemed to fly past for both of them, coming to a satisfactory close as the students were sent home for the holidays. This left more time away from grading and classes. This meant that Severus asked/told Hermione that he would require her help once again in the labs to make the Christmas and New Year's Party Potions. She gladly acquiesced. She would be visiting the Weasleys again this year and Severus, well he was just as antisocial as usual and refused to participate in any partying. The only activity close to a party came Christmas night when Hermione showed up with another tin of cookies. She had not given him a present, and he had not given her one. But he felt as if his heart had swelled without gifts, Hermione had come back especially so that she could play chess and share the Season's eatings with him instead of staying all night with her friends. He felt a warmth in his chest that he had not before felt possible, by her gesture of friendship and companionship.

After Christmas they had begun the perpetrations for the New Years partying. Two days before New Year 's Day, when they were returning from the lab they found an owl sitting on the floor outside his office door. It had obviously been waiting there for some time, as it had its head tucked up underneath his wing, snoozing.

Hermione bent down and gently stroked his back feathers to wake him, as Severus was Warding the office door behind him. This resulted in the owl nearly having a heart attack and letting out an ear piercing screech off surprise. Hermione jumped back in shock and Severus whirled around, nearly hexing the poor creature.

"Note to self, next time don't pet the sleeping owl." She huffed, clutching her chest. Severus still looked at the owl suspiciously; he was not fond of things that made such loud offensive noises, especially when they did so suddenly. Carefully reaching out she picked the owl up around his wings and body so that Severus could unite the package and letter attached to his legs. She saw that the package and letter were from the Ministry. Severus took the letter and package with a scowl.

"Were you expecting something?" She asked, curiosity abounding.

"No." He frowned, looking at the unopened letter with obvious trepidation.

"Oh, well, I guess I will go take this guy up to the front door and let him out." She had everything she could do not to ask him to open it there so she could see. The owl was beginning to squirm and wiggle. He looked up from the letter to look at her holding the owl.

"You can bring him to my chambers, they are closer. He can leave through the Floo." He grumbled and turned to walk towards his chambers. Surprised she followed him. She was quite sure that he did not often offer to make life easier for anyone, and allowing her to bring the bird to his chambers would definitely make her life easier.

When they got to his chambers he unwarded the door and allowed her to enter with the squirming feathery mass. Coming in the door behind her he rewarded the door and pointed his wand at the hearth that burst into flames. Fawkes called almost happily from his perch as they entered. He had seemed more and more happy each time that Hermione had come into Severus' rooms. Hermione could spare him little thought as she was holding an increasingly annoyed bird. Severus threw a pinch of Floo Powder into the hearth for her as she had both hands full. "Hogwarts' exit chimney." He said and Hermione let go of the owl that gave an annoyed screech and then zoomed out of the hearth.

"Well I'm glad that's over." She said when the flames had returned to their normal colors. "Hello Fawkes." She said looking at the Phoenix who cooed happily. She went over to his perch and scratched his head and watched as his eyes drooped appreciatively. Severus watched and then huffed, turning away. "What?" She asked, confused by his condemnation.

"It was him." He grunted. "He seems to always have his two cents to put in on everything." He had placed the package and letter on the table between the wingback chairs.

"Oh." She said, she wanted to know what he had to say, but did not have enough courage with his already dark attitude. She watched as he went to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of Firewiskey.

"Would you like something?" He asked motioning to what he had.

"A glass of wine would be fine." She told him. He poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her as he crossed near her to sit in one of the chairs. Fawkes cooed. She offered her glass out to Fawkes and he took a quick sip and settled back down to preen. Hermione sat down in the other chair before the hearth. She was unsure of what was to happen now. He looked absently into the fire before them, not touching the letter, package or his drink. After a few minutes she ventured to speak.

"Do you have any idea why the Ministry would want to send you something?"

"No." He grunted. "Everything that I owned was returned to me after my acquittal." He scoffed. "There is no reason they would contact me.

"Perhaps you should open it. It looks important to me." She said after a moment. She had wondered what was in the package for him and she had come to suspected she knew what might be in it. She had been corresponding with the Ministry ever since the second Anniversary party.

"There is nothing the Ministry has to say that I want to hear." He grunted, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, his face towards the ceiling.

"I am sure that there is something in this letter you will want to hear." She coaxed, sipping her wine.

"How would you know?" He asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice, the eye closest to her opened and eyed her.

"Premonition?" She suggested with a shrug. "Not everything is bad after all."

"Very little, if anything good comes out of the Ministry." He told her, but he did reach for the letter. He opened it and then after reading for a moment crumpled it with such violence as to nearly reduce the paper to dust. His face was flushed in anger and his eyes flashed dangerously. He looked positively murderous. Hermione was taken aback by such a rapid and defined change in countenance that she drew back into the confines of the chair, unsure of what to do. He threw the paper to his feet and threw back his glass of Firewiskey. "Damn Ministry officials think they can appease me after what they tried to do to me!" He cursed under his breath, but not quite enough for her not to hear. He got up to stomp over to his liquor cabinet to refill his glass.

As he was crossing the room, and figuring she knew what the letter contained, she chanced to look at it. She flicked her wand covertly beside her and the piece of smattered paper righted itself and flew to her hand. Glancing over what the letter said she saw her assumptions had been right. "Took long enough." She grunted unintentionally out loud.

"What is that suppose to mean?" He snapped at her with an uncommon dose of venom in his voice that she had not heard in quite some time. He had brought the bottle back with him to his chair. She looked slightly guilty holding his letter she had not been invited to read. She hastily laid it aside as he was obviously not in a generous mood.

"It means that seven months of red tape is finally over." She sighed with both relief and worry, as he was eyeing her in a manner he usually reserved for Harry Potter. Upon her response his manner registered a slight shadow of perplexed indignation. Seeing she would have to come clean about her dealings with the Ministry in the last seven months she heaved another sigh and took a deep swig of her glass of wine.

"I have held that you should have received an Order of Merlin, First Class for a long time, ever since I came by the knowledge of how much you did for the War effort. This belief was obviously not shared by many in the general populace, or those in power as you did not receive one after your trial. I believed that perhaps you would be given the honor at the second Anniversary celebration last May, but to no avail. I made the decision that day that I would not rest until you got the honor your deeds deserved. So after nearly seven months of battling red tape and Ministry dunderheads, I have finally accomplished my task." She sighed, sipping her wine again and looking almost frightenedly at him over the rim of the glass. Not sure if his anger would be further provoked or relieved.

It took perhaps a full minute for the gravity of the situation to actually hit him and sink in. it was not an afterthought of perhaps some Ministry prang of guilt (not that he was entirely sure they ever had any prangs of guilt), but the hard work and dedication of Hermione that he was now part of the Order of Merlin and First Class nonetheless. He was not quite sure how to react. The distinction had been something he had long wished for, something that almost every wizard wished for. But he had felt that his receiving it had been tainted by his involvement with the Death Eaters and then the not totally unfounded, but most definitely ill taken time at Azkaban. He did not believe that he had done anything honorable enough to first absolve him of his past guilt and then vault him into the same caliber of wizard as had been Dumbledore. True he had provided important and in some cases pivotal information to the Order, but it had been something he had done with his own penance in mind, and the desire for no others to have to suffer as he did. Now he found out that it was Hermione that had been working diligently, in his name for him to receive such an illustrious award was mind boggling.

"Why?" Was all he could think to say.

"Because you deserved something in return to your great selfless sacrifices to the Wizarding World. You chose to do what was right over what was easy. That takes true merit and grit, as well as a true heart. Nothing else deserves such an award as to be in the Order of Merlin, though medals do not do great deeds justice." She told him.

"How would you know of what you see as selfless deeds?" He asked her with a deep scowl, but all semblances of venom were gone, for that she was glad.

"I shall not divulge my source, for it was given in the strictest of confidence." She told him, hoping he would not press her for the source of her knowledge. She did not think that he would be ready to hear all that she knew. She didn't know if she would think him ready to hear it ever. "I shall not break confidence with those who have entrusted it to me." She told him with a hard look from over her wineglass rim.

He gave a huff and sat back into his chair, fingering his still empty glass, the bottle sitting beside him on the table untouched. "Just as I enjoy your confidence, then I shall let you carry another's. I shall not press for information that you have not the leave to tell. To do so would be something detestable."

"Thank you." She said quietly, she was glad his private nature and the knowledge that he would not want someone to press information about him from her kept him from pressing the issue. "Well." She said after a moment of gathering her courage. "Are you going to open the package and take a look at your medal?"

"I haven't decided." He answered more truthfully to a question than he had in a long time. He looked into the crystal depths of the glass in his hand as if it were a crystal ball going to tell him the right answer. "I am still unsure of how I feel about the circumstances surrounding both the actions that supposedly warranted my receiving the medal as well as the receiving of the medal."

"Well, I think that you deserve to have it, and it seems that the Ministry has finally come to the same assessment. Even though I did have to beat them over the head to even listen to what I had to say."

"I will have to agree your tenacity is legendary." He said with some reluctance. "I would probably still be crawling to the castle from the woods had you not helped me." He had never outright said 'thank you' for what she had done, but she knew he was grateful.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "It was the least I could do."

After another moment of silence contemplation that had his attention focused on the package on the table between them, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, he finally gave a sigh. He beckoned his hand gently and the package came into his hand. The glass was set aside and he looked at the package with trepidation. He slowly unwrapped the package and lifted the black box up to inspect. He opened the box, looking at the medal shine in the firelight. He reached out with one pale finger and gently caressed the golden medal with reverence. Then after a moment's contemplation he returned the cover to the box and frowned, unsure of what to do now.

"Where are you going to display your medal Severus?" Hermione asked after he had returned the cover to the box.

"Display?" He asked slightly distractedly.

"Yes, you must display such a wondrous accomplishment." She insisted. "Even if it is just for yourself. It really can make you feel better on bad days, I know mine does for me." He grunted noncommittally. "Well, I thank you for the wine Severus, as much as I would like to linger I must get some sleep. Tomorrow night will be quite a party and I need to get enough sleep tonight. Are you sure you don't want to come. Molly always makes more food than is necessary, I'm sure you would have some fun if you allowed yourself."

"No, I am quite sure I don't want to be confined in the same house as Potter for any length of time." He grunted with anger touching his voice.

"Well, it really is a shame, but I shan't press the issue as I see it shall do no good. I hope that you have a good night and have a good remainder of the year. I suppose that the next time we meet it will be a new year."

"We shall start on the Hospital wing Potions the second bright and early." He told her.

"Alright. Until then." She rose to her feet and place the glass between them on the table. "I shall see myself out if that is alright." He grunted distracted again, still staring at the box with his medal, testing its weight in his hand as if he feared it would vanish if he looked away. She smiled to herself and let herself out of his chambers, feeling as the Wards re-solidified as she closed the door behind her.

Severus could not remember such a time when his emotions had turned from one extreme to another as quickly as they had that night. He had gone from murderously angry at the Ministry to astonishment and then warm gratitude that someone cared enough to champion his cause to the Ministry. Accompanying such a little known emotion as being on the receiving end of such an amazingly selfless act on his behalf, he also felt a strong stab of curiosity. Not for the first, or last time did he contemplate how much Hermione might actually know of his time before and around his slaying of Dumbledore. He also wanted to desperately know the source of whatever amount of information she had. He was unsure if he wanted to thank who or whatever her source, or blast it/them from the face of the planet.

When he opened the box that held his new medal, he was in reverent awe of its beauty and what it symbolized. He reached out and gently touched the gleaming medal as it to reassure himself that it was indeed truly before him. After a moment of admiration he returned the cover to its place, but would not put it down. He was still unsure of how to deal with it. Hermione had suggested display, but he was unsure of such a course. She was wholly sure that he had earned it, but he was as yet unsettled about the ordeal. He although was reluctant to part with such a token of prowess.

He heard her bid him goodnight and exchanged his desires. No he would not be confined with Potter, that would most likely come to an ugly end for at least one of them. And that they would again be in the lab in four days, brewing for the Hospital wing. She then left and he made sure the Wards were solid with a brief wave of his hand once he heard the door close. Deciding he could not hide such an accomplishment, but neither could he openly display it, he settled on a compromise. He placed the box, closed, upon the mantle above the fire in a place of honor, even though the contents of the box were left hidden.

The very fact that he had come to a compromise should have thrown a red flag into his vision. He was usually a man that, when he had control over sanitations, wanted all or nothing. Compromising when unnecessary was not something he did as a rule. Had he thought to examine his deeds in the past year, even he would have come to a startling conclusion. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was slowly letting Hermione into his life and into his heart. The conflicting elements of pushing her away for her own good, and allowing her close to ease his own suffering were in constant battle. But it seemed that he could not deny the allure of someone who would willing consort with him, help him, at seemingly a great enough cost to warrant relief when completed, and trust him so much as to fall asleep beside him without her wand within easy grabbing distance. Had he thought to examine his heart on the matter he would have realized he was falling in love with the impertinent little know it all, Hermione Granger, no matter what his better judgment or denying brain decided to tell him.

**A/N: well, this looks as though things are going well. I know oscarxena, we will get there, give me four more months in the story line and then the story will appear to have nitro strapped to the back end of it. grin. Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter, I didn't think that Severus should go without the Order of Merlin, First Class. he worked to hard at the war effort. Anyway, thanks for all the lovely reviews you have sent me, especially those who are anonymous and I can't reply back to. I would like to have 5 more reviews please guys. Oh and I can't guarantee a post every day like I have been doing, the teachers are starting to throw more homework my way and fanfic unfortunately has to take a back seat to real life. but never fear I will update just as fast as I can and it shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 days between postings at the most! This goes for all chapters after this. Thanks for all the reviews you guys have left already. Dragons Quill**


	34. Minsitry 'Ministrations'

**A/N: hey guys, thanks for the reviews. I have battled past the specter of homework long enough to post. Here things start getting the nitro pack installed. The warning is here because it is mentioned. I will not write anything graphically violent of a sexual manner, I don't agree with it one bit and I feel writing it would be promoting it. But lemons are a different story altogether, they will show up later in another chapter. ok, well I hope you like what I have written.**

_Ministry 'Ministrations' _(34)

**WARNING: has the mention of idea of rape, nothing graphic but still mentioned. If you don't want to read it come back next time or skip last paragraph.**

The second term of the year began with as little fan fare as was to be expected. Classes returned to normal and Severus was still blissfully unaware of what was slowly befalling him. The only thing that caused anyone any trepidation, besides of course the homework, was a buzz in the _Daily Prophet_ about a new law being talked about in the Ministry.

There was much whispering about a Marriage Law being presented with the intent to make it an enforceable law. Most of the young witches and wizards laughed at the thought or chose to completely ignore even the possibility. The older witches and wizards that had been directly involved and entangled in the War, knew the casualty numbers and still remembered the fear that had accompanied the knowledge that their race was nearly destroyed, were both frightened and resigned to the possibility it would come to pass.

The population had not experienced an explosion as the muggles had experienced after the two World Wars and it left the Wizarding World exceedingly lacking in its main claim to existence, witches and wizards. With this knowledge came the realization something was going to have to happen if the Wizarding World were to survive. It had been over three and a half years since Voldemort was vanquished, if a natural population boom was going to occur it would already have happened.

Hermione knew the buzz that accompanied the growing possibility of a Marriage Law. She just didn't know what to do about it. Her social pool was severely limited, as she did not get off the castle grounds very often. That left her with practically no options. Either her coworkers were already married, in a long term relationship, or unwilling. Those that were willing to court her, she had no interest in. So in the face of these odds she decided she would avoid the matter all together until she was unable to do so.

Severus was in much the same mood as Hermione on the subject. He absolutely refused to be drawn into any speculative discussions on the matter and instead endeavored to chase off anyone who brought the subject up. His only reprieve came when he was alone, or to his surprise working with Hermione in his lab. She did not ask him his opinion and speculate the manner of the law if and when it was passed. She also resoundly refused to discuss it. He found that he was able to drop his guard to a point with her even more so; still very much in denial that he was anything but being her friend.

The time came all too soon for both Severus and Hermione to admit the issue must be addressed directly, not to each other, but individually. It was the first week of May that the _Daily Prophet_ announced in large bold print, _**Ministry Passes Marriage Law!! **_ The article read as follows:

_Late last night the Minister of Magic finally pushed through the long awaited, and much discussed Marriage Law. "It will hopefully help restore some balance and numbers to our dwindling community as a whole. It has been a long time coming, but I believe it should fix the problems that have plagued our community for far too long." The Minister of Magic said, declining further comment. A brief overview of the new Marriage law is as follows:_

_All magically inclined male and females, both of Pureblood decent and of muggleborn parents are subject to this law as of the time they come of age at 17. Due to the increasing number of stillbirths and squibs from increasingly inbreed Pureblood lines, Pureblood marriages, are no longer acceptable, with the exception of those already bonded or have a signed marriage contract between both parties prior to the date of this law's issuance. Those of Pureblood decent are to marry only those of half-blood or muggle born decent. This is also due to the reasoning that as it was a division between Pureblood wizards and those of muggleborn decent that initially sparked off the War, that such an issue should be rendered a point of contention no longer. The responsibility of obtaining a signed contract from and acceptable witch or wizard falls fully to the responsibility of the Pureblood witch or wizard in question. _

_The witches and wizards receiving contracts for their hand in marriage shall have four weeks from the inception of this law, or their coming of age, to decide upon which contract to oblige. Witches and wizards who have been previously married, but are widows or widowers are no exempt from this law, baring such a person does not meet certain exception points listed below. Those who do not receive contracts, or choose not to send out contracts, will then be put into a pool of applicants at the end of the four weeks of allotted time. After that time a name will be drawn at random from the accompanying acceptable matches, this constitutes an acceptance of a contract between such two persons and they will be notified by owl within three business days of such an occurrence. Upon accepting a contract, it must be completed within one year, if it is not then you will be considered in violation of the law and retribution will be taken. _

_Once a bond is established it is expected that children result from it within one year. No birth control will work with the exception of those who are still in school, higher education does not count. This claim shall be verified independently by the Ministry. Those who already have born six living children or more, or who are over 160 years of age are also exempt from bearing children. These claims shall also be examined independently by the Ministry. For the families who lost children, but that were of childbearing age and had done so before their death, the children from these now deceased individuals will be counted as children for the families raising and caring for them. The individuals that bore children before their deaths will also be counted as part of the six required children. If it is discovered a bound couple is barren they are to continue to try, but will not be penalized for lack of success, claims of barrenness shall be investigated fully by the Ministry. _

_Those who are bound are obligated to attempt conception once a week, with the exception of the time during a confirmed pregnancy. Three months time is allotted after a birth or loss of a pregnancy where copulation is not mandatory. The mandatory copulation will be performed with or without the consent of the bond pair, as such a charm will be invoked upon the bond, including all previous bonds. The charm will only subside after six children are born to, or accounted for in a bonded unit or age eliminate the necessity. _

_If any witch or wizard chooses not to follow this law the penalties will be as follows: removal of all licenses (apparting etc.), removal from jobs, removal of rights a wand, possible imprisonment in Azkaban, and explosion from the Wizarding community as a whole. _

_For those of interest, a full detailed copy of the law can be obtained by owling the Department of Ministry Laws Monday through Friday. A copy should be dispatched to you within three or four business days._

Hermione read the article in shock. She had barely admitted to herself that it would come to pass, but this… _this_ was unacceptable. She could no more marry some random Pureblood that asked for her hand, than she could change the course of the stars in the sky. She had to find a loop hole to get her out of such a mess and allow her to better be able to choose who she was to marry.

Severus was blissfully unaware of the goings on around him, as he did not partake in a subscription of the _Daily Prophet_ and was disinclined to ever do so. He felt that if there was anything worth knowing from the paper, he would hear it from a fellow teacher. He was first cued in that something was amiss when he felt Hermione go completely ridge beside him. He could see out of the corner of his eye that she had gone ashen grey to a bright red of indignant anger. He also began to notice that from all the house tables came hissing, booing and a great noise of general unrest. Sweeping his eyes over the great hall he saw knots of students gathered around those with subscriptions to the _Daily Prophet_, all looking very worried and upset. Normally he would have cared little about how the students were feeling about whatever had come to pass, but as he saw that the countenance of four or five of other teachers who also received the paper were the same as Hermione's and those reading over shoulders were getting the same look about them; he figured he had better take notice of what was happening, and fast.

Hermione had thrown down her paper in disgust and he saw the headline glaring up at him. He reached out without permission and took the newspaper. Hermione's angry scowl and attitude did not change, nor was it redirected at him, so he felt safe enough. Reading through the article he felt the cold grip of terror secure its hand around his heart and stomach. He knew very well he was not marriage material, and he did not want anyone that he would be forced to rape at least once a week in hopes of producing a child. He had always disgusted Voldemort for such things; now the Ministry was not only condoning the act, but causing it as well. He must, he would get a copy of the law, he would find a loophole and he would save himself from a loveless marriage and a woman from being forced to bear children he did not want and all likeliness, she wouldn't want either. He would not rape a woman; he would rather remain celibate for the rest of his life than force himself on a woman against his or her will. He had managed to stay chaste through his time under Voldemort; he would find a way to uphold his ideals despite the Ministry. 

**A/N: well, well, well, looks like the Ministry is trying some new ridiculous ploy. This is bound o be bad for everyone in general. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and see oscarxena, things are starting to move along, never fear, he won't need the little blue pill when things occur ;). The next chapter will be just a little slow, and I debated about including it, but I believe it will be a good contrast to add to when things finally happen and the difference between what was, what is and what could have been. Ok now I'm just rambling. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I enjoy what you all think. I would like to have 5 more reviews and I will post again as soon as I can get my head above the homework deluge. Dragons Quill. **


	35. Suitors and Suitable Selections

**A/N: yea! Wow you guys are great. I post and 12 hours later I have 12 reviews. how cool is that! I am so glad you guys like what I have written. I know at the end of the last chapter I said that this chapter would have things that were something I thought was needed, but then again I looked at the wrong chapter, that is chapter 36, not 35. this is the chapter we find out who is trying out for Hermione's hand and who Severus is going to petition. **

_Suitors and Suitable Selections _(35)

The week following the announcement of the Marriage Law was total hell for Hermione. She had sent off that night for a copy of the Marriage Law, using Headwig, as all the school's owls were not so surprisingly, in use. Harry had not sent for a copy of the law. She had seen him and Ginny in deep discussion later that day in the staff room and hoped that they would finally take the final step and make it official. As happy and interested in such proceedings as she would both normally and would have liked to been, she had her own worries. The very next morning she got her first of what would be a small list of marriage proposals. By the end of two weeks the list had seemingly stopped growing and ended up looking as such:

Ron Weasley

Draco Malfoy

Neville Longbottom

Victor Krum

Vincent Crabbe

Geoffrey Goyle

Oliver Wood

Marcus Flint

Surveying the small list with no great relish Hermione tried to keep what was left of her life from going to pot. The Marriage Law could have occurred at no less of an advantageous time for Hermione. It was the end of the year and she was swamped with endless supplies of tests, paperwork and reference letters. She also knew that as soon as the graduation ceremony was over she would be expected to spend the next week brewing. Now she also had a wedding to plan and a groom to pick.

She had gone to Ginny in a terrible huff a few evenings after the law was passed and ended up sleeping on her couch after crying herself exhausted. She had spent the previous two hours poring over the law and finding not even a pin prick of a loophole. The one good thing that had come from that night though, was a scheme that would land her with perhaps not the best, for there were not that qualified on the list presented, but the most determined of husbands. She knew that if she was going to be forced to marry it might as well be to someone with a back bone instead of a dead fish.

Hermione also decided that if she was going to have to go through with such an activity she might as well get it done sooner rather than later, she did not want there to be any question if she was in compliance with the law or not. Though she could have dealt with any or all of the punishments that the law supplied would happen, she did not relish going back to living as a muggle and having no degree to speck for, at least not something that muggles would understand.

It was decided, and Ginny said she would help, once they gained approval from McGonagall, that there would be a test for each of the suitors. The test would be simple, but by no means did that mean easy. This test would also seek to see what each suitor was made of and how they reacted when faced with adversity.

Hermione was well aware that Ron still fancied himself in love with her. But the volatile relationship that had occurred during their seventh year had proved to her otherwise. One or both of them would soon end up in the Hospital or in the ground if they were to become bonded and she was forced to bear at least six children to him.

Draco, well she would rather avoid not only him, but the name at all costs. She suspected that the only reason that he might have even thought to apply for her hand was really for her bank account. She had been saving, but he would not know that. What he would know about her finances was that the Order of Merlin came with a sizable chunk of change. She knew he was living in a hovel compared to his sumptuous ancestral manor. She would have none of him.

Crabbe and Goyle to her were one in the same, large lumbering buffoons that had once tried to kill her in the final battle. They were still very much Draco's hence men and shared everything with him. She shivered to think that it very well might include her. Besides she did not even want to think about what the vast difference in bulk might be, it would not bode well for her to caught beneath one of them.

Marcus Flint she had watched a few times as he played Quiddutch. She had not liked him then, he was the opposing team caption after all, but there was more to it. She knew that his family was from a predominately Death Eater background and she had witness his cruelty on and off both the battle and Quiddutch fields. He was also significantly larger than her as well and wondered how long she would survive such a match.

Victor Krum would seem a reasonable match save the fact he was who he was. She had learned that the hard way her fourth year. He was already famous beyond reckoning and that relationship had ended when she realized she had become nothing more than a trophy. He had singled her out because she was pretty and just happened to be one of Harry's best friends. She did not want to become a trophy wife anymore than she wanted to become a cash cow for Draco or his minions.

Oliver Wood she had always found to be kind and caring, well that was when he was not obsessing over Quiddutch, and that was infrequent. In the few conversations she ever had with him, all but one had centered on how the team was doing that season. The singular conversation where Quiddutch was not raised was when he had warned her in the hallway not to take a specific short cut, due to some havoc Peeves had raised and Filtch was threatening anyone who came within five hundred feet of the scene with detention. Seeing that he was now on one of the country's Quiddutch teams, very little was likely to have changed.

The only person on the list that she could even bring herself to consider was Neville Longbottom. She liked him, but only as a friend. He was well meaning and kind, but he was by no means the sharpest tack in the box. He knew his plants, there was no denying that, but that was about it. He had passed his subjects, but she knew that it had only been with her help he had passed Potions. Of the list she knew he would be the one to treat her as was to the best of his abilities and strive to love her. Any way she looked at the list she would become a broodmare for someone.

The man she really had hoped to be on the list of suitors was not. She also did not know how to tell him without considerable eggshell walking or opening herself up for the grandest of ridicules that had occurred in quite some time. The only man she found herself now wanting was one she did not believe would ever want her in return. She had over the course of her time working with him, fallen for the cantankerous Severus Snape.

He was a man of considerable knowledge and skill. He would not only challenge her to think beyond what she saw, but allow her to expand on the knowledge she already had. She also had come to find him attractive in his own way and knew he held a considerable amount of power in his being. She had long been attracted to his deep resonating voice against the cold stone walls of the dungeons and would not mind at all finding warmth in the dungeons beneath the presumably green silk comforter in his bed chambers. If she was going to be forced to spread her legs and birth six children she wanted it to be with someone that she respected and in truth, held to some degree of admiration. She had long held his person in regard upon viewing the pensieves, but watching him with her horses she had come to hold him with esteem as well.

Had she had enough time to think about it, she would have realized the only reason she had agreed to the test she would be imposing on the list of suitors was because of him. He had in fact already passed the test where all others had failed. Had she thought about it, she had been putting every man in the castle to the test for nearly two years and he was the only one who not only passed, but helped her to create and elaborated the test as well. But as she was so swamped with deadlines that could not be extended she did not consider it.

Severus' days were not going any better. He had read the Ministry law back to front and in a few hours knew it inside and out. He also had found no way out of the quandary and it left his already disheartened mood, blacker still. He could not bring himself to petition for anyone's hand in marriage, much less the woman he had come to long for, Hermione. He was not only, not marriage material, but he knew that there would be few if any that would ever consider him if he was. He had sat back and considered his options. The only thing he could see that could come out of this was that perhaps the woman the Ministry picked for him would not know of his past. But then again, the Dark Mark was evidence enough to his past, he could not hide it from everyone forever, least of all a woman he was married to. He would never be rid of the reminders of his past indiscretions.

He was not one to give up, surrender or be bullied by anyone; he had stood up to and weathered Voldemort's rages and had survived the usually well meaning if not often misguided meddling of Albus. He had survived the strongest wizards that the Wizarding World had to offer. He would not let such a harebrained scheme as the Marriage Law beat him. The problem lay in that unlike a person, the law could not be tricked, bent to his will or tweaked to his liking.

He had thought of every possible and a few implausible ways to avoid the law and had come up wanting, greatly. The only other option would be to leave the Wizarding World completely and remove himself from the gene pool of forced breeding. While suicide was an option, it seemed bleak and extreme; he had not spent nearly his whole life avoiding death to then bring it upon himself when the real danger of being murdered was over. He could also become a muggle, but he knew better than to believe he could accomplish that. He knew little of the muggle realm that bustled around the magical one and from what he did know he could not fathom being forced to survive as such. Not only was he unschooled in what the muggles did and did not accept education wise, but he was also getting on in years, when compared to a muggle counterpart. The likely hood of successfully surviving muggledom was about equal to himself committing suicide. None of this was appealing at all.

He had finally come to the disheartening and self loathing decision that he would marry whomever the Ministry picked for him. He could not impose himself upon another by asking them for their hand, nor did he think he would have the ability to deal with yet another rejection. His best hope was to have the Ministry pick for him and hope for the best. At least his new bride would be of the same belief as he in matters of picking a mate.

**A/N: yes I know, I personally want to go and kick him in the butt too. But that is how he wrote himself and I couldn't really tweak him too much more. Besides, never fear, we aren't done yet and there are a few more twists and turns to consider before I end the story. **

**as an added bit of fun, for anyone that guesses what the test is, I will dedicate the chapter that tells what the test is to any and all that guess correctly. You may guess as many times as you want, but I won't say yea or nay until I post that chapter. It will only be in 3 more chapters.**

**Hope you guys enjoy what I have written so far and thanks for the reviews. Dragons Quill**


	36. Chess Games and End of Year Dances

**A/N: thanks to all my reviewers and all of those who have made a guess as to what the test will be, and the challenge is still up for those who have not guessed- more at the bottom notes. I also didn't expect that some of you would be so impassioned about my story, but I shall most definitely not complain. Well on to this chapter, this one is something that I debated about writing, but felt that I needed to illustrate a definite transition in their relationship. Ok, well onto the chapter.**

_Chess Games and End of Year dances _(36)

In the last three weeks of classes Severus and Hermione strived to keep things closer to something normal as both of their lives began to spiral out of control around them. Hermione had planned out the whole wedding, now all she needed to do was find a groom and then the whole ordeal could commence on the appointed day. She had sent out invitations to all of her suitors to attend the Anniversary party of the down fall of Voldemort as the next day would be the test. She had told them all that it would be a test of 'Charm'. She did not want to give any clues to what the test might actually entail as to keep everyone and everything involved safe. Only those who would be participating in the execution of the test knew all the details.

The year before Severus and Hermione had discontinued their chess matches the final week of school because it was so hectic. The idea was proposed again, but Hermione would hear nothing of it. She may have more than the year before to do, but she had been so frazzled without the release of at least having a chance to win at something that she could not bear to abandon it this year.

It was the last chess match of the school year that did not quite go as planned, but served as a venting ground for frustration nonetheless. Hermione arrived at Severus' office at the usual time and they went together to the lab, as was customary. He did not offer up his chambers for their game and she felt that neutral territory gave no one the advantage.

With an exceedingly large sigh she settled across the table from him, looking at her pieces with both mortification and exhaustion. She really did not want to have to think and plan to win the game, but she abhorred the idea of not playing at least one game. Severus looked at her appraisingly with a frown.

"Are you sure you want to play tonight?" He asked her, having noticed she slouched when she sat for the last week and a half. It was as if a great weight was on her shoulders and she could no longer hold it up.

"Yes, I want to play." She said, though he was not convinced.

"Have you been getting enough sleep lately Hermione?" He asked.

"Is anyone?!" She snapped back, he would usually have been offended, but looking at the dark circles under her eyes and the exhaustion in her voice he was surprisingly not. "The Ministry expects me to marry someone who I don't want to marry, who I don't believe will love me, nor I him and then I am suppose to pop out six children by this man whoever it will be. I have a wedding to plan, tests to correct, papers for my House to write and Potions to help you with, all before the end of next week. I feel so trapped by this new law and the speed in which it must be executed. No, I can't get to sleep even if I wanted to and when I do get to lie down my rest is fitful at best." She moaned, totally sounding like a whiny five year old. She covered her face with her hands and struggled not to cry.

"I'm sorry Severus. I was hoping that this nice normal activity with a dear friend could help me find my keel, but I… I don't think I can do this, not tonight." She sounded completely dejected. "I'm sorry to act this way, I'm sorry I caused you the inconvenience of setting aside this time and then letting you down." She drew a shuttering breath.

Severus was taken aback by the floodgates he had opened on her emotions. It was clear that she was overworking herself to the point of nearly a breakdown, whether it was to be mental or physical depended wholly on which gave out first. He was also astonished when he discerned that she had come to him for comfort. No one had ever done that before, it was a totally new experience, and he found, that as long as she didn't start crying, he thought he might be able to handle it.

"Hermione." He said in the same voice he used on the horses. This resulted in him gaining her full attention. She looked directly at him, though her shoulders still drooped. "Come with me." He held out his hand and she took it. He placed her hand on his arm and led her back through the black hallway and into his office. They did not speak on the way back to the office, but he heard her sniffle in the dark and she clung to his arm like a small child hugs a favorite blanket. Once in his office he crossed over to a cabinet and drew out a vial.

"Take this." He said offering it to her. "It is a vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion. It will give you the rest you need. You will be of no use to anyone, least of all yourself, if you have a mental or physical breakdown. I don't believe in using sleeping Potions, but there are times when they are essential. There were times back when Voldermort still lived when Dreamless Sleep Potion was the only way I could find rest. Take it tonight and get the rest you need. Your work will be easier in the morning when you've had some rest."

"I… I don't know what to say." Hermione mumbled. She had taken the vial and was looking at it. "You really aren't mad?" She asked, sounding slightly stupid due to her disbelief.

"No, but if you don't take it and refuse to get some sleep I very well may get mad." He told her with a scowl.

"Thank you." She said with a weak smile of exhaustion. Then on an impulse and only her fatigue to blame she threw her arms around him, giving him a big hug. He was shocked and stood stiff as a board for a few moments, unsure of what to do. Then he did something he had wanted to do for a long time, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, feeling her close to his body.

"Off with you." He said after a moment, and dropping his arms, rather reluctantly, but soon enough he figured she might not notice. "The longer you stay here, the less time you have to sleep tonight."

She pulled away almost reluctantly and then with a nod left his office. "Thank you again." She said as she left.

He rewarded the cupboard and sat down at his desk again. He may not have been able to spend time with Hermione as he had wished, but she needed the rest far more and he figured he might as well give her, as it was within his power to do so.

The end of year dance was a few days after the chess match that never happened. As usual he was forced to chaperone. This once again did not bode well for any star crossed lovers looking for a tryst in a rosebush. Especially not this year, if he could not have the woman that he wanted, then he would make sure no one else go that same pleasure for themselves, at least not on his watch. His foul mood hung like a storm cloud over his head and threatened to singe anyone daring enough to instigate him, with at bolt of angry lightening. The only one who seemed willing to get within range was Hermione.

"Thank you Severus." She told him. "The Potion you gave me has worked exceedingly well. I have not slept this well since the end of last summer and our first trail ride."

"You're welcome." He grumbled with a scowl. He was eyeing the dark corners of the Great Hall, trying to spy any overly 'lovey' pairs. He had noticed since he had given Hermione the vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion that she had looked generally less frazzled and the dark circles under her eyes had subsided to a mere shadow of puffiness. He was glad to see the old Hermione back on her feet again.

"Perhaps you would like to dance to lighten your mood?" She said cautiously after a few minutes for standing beside him watching nearly all of the students shimmy across the dance floor.

"I don't dance, not at a school party. I have a job to do and students to manage." He growled. "You do as well. I suggest you go check out the far corner, I have some rose bushes to inspect." (Translation- incinerate) He stalked off towards the main entrance. He was nothing if not angry about such a question. He was too private a person to dance with Hermione in such a public fashion, especially in front of the students. Showing such an ability to be diverted from his job showed a weakness, something he did not tolerate.

Hermione was slightly upset about his refusal. She had not meant to hug him so tightly for so long as she had the night of the botched chess game, but she had. She did not know what came over her to do such a thing, but she had. Instead of jumping or swatting her away, Severus had actually returned her hug making no mention of it when he spoke again. This was perplexing, but she was not one to ask questions when the situation most definitely was in her favor. With a shrug of unhappiness, but no real insult she went about her work of keeping the young couples apart long enough to get air and determine whose tongue was whose. She would have liked to dance with Severus, but she had guessed he would not oblige her, but she would not have known, had she not asked.

**A/N: ok guys, there is the chapter, I felt that it was important to show a definite change in their 'relationship', if that is what it could be called at this point. **

**The challenge to tell me what the test will be is still active. For those who guess correctly I will co-dedicate the chapter where the test is revealed. I won't tell anyone if they are correct or not until that time. **

**Next chapter we have a look at the attempts of all Hermione's suitors to pass what they think is the test. Oh, in relation to the last chapter, I forgot to mention that I don't know Crabbe and Goyle's last names, so I didn't put them in. I figured they would be recognized for who they associated with. **

**Thanks for all the reviews so far guys and don't for get to review. If you have the desire to read another super fic I would suggest anything by my beta skydancinghobbit. She has three up for Harry Potter now. until next update coming soon. Dragons Quill**


	37. Save the Last Dance

**A/N: yea! Thanks for the wonderful reviews guys! I have been most amused by some of the more 'unusual' suggestions for the test. Well here is the third anniversary party of Voldemort's defeat, trust me, things don't stand still anymore. The nitro has now been lit!**

_Save the last dance _(37)

The week following the graduation ceremony flew by in the blink of an eye. Hermione had wanted to have a little time to savor her last week as a single woman, but preparations for the party prevented her from savoring much other than sleep and the time she could spend with Severus. She wanted to ask him who he had petitioned, but she could not. She knows that if he choose to tell her than he would have. She would not intrude onto his private domain; it was not her information to know. Unsure of how to deal with the subject, they continued as if the Marriage Law had not occurred, purposely avoiding the topic in favor of others. They spent the week as they had in the summer, beginning to brew early and working late, having a good meal and good conversation to end off the day.

The day before the party when they ended and Severus was leading her back up to his office, she gave one final look behind her as the door to his lab closed. It would be the final time she left the lab a free woman. Next time she would have to endure questions she knew would arise from her new husband. What happened down in the lab? Why did things take so long? Why did she enjoy going to the lab with Severus? With a slight shudder she leaned closer to Severus. She didn't want the dark hallway to end. She wanted to spend her time beside Severus, but she knew that he would likely not feel the same. She knew things would be very different if she brought such an idea up, and odds were they would not be in her favor. She would have to be content that she could help him in the lab and learn from him what she could.

Severus had felt her shudder as they passed through the hallway and had seen her longingly looking behind them at the lab as he closed the door. He did not think she knew he had seen, but he had and he understood what she had not said. Leaving the lab was one more step towards her marriage to someone unknown to him and seemingly her as well, and his loosing even the chance that he would ever become confident enough to suggest that they become something more. with that weighing heavily on his heart he bid her goodnight at his office door and lingered, watching her as she made her way down the hall away from him.

McGonagall had made it quite clear he was to attend the Anniversary party as he had the year before. So when it was time the next day he made his way to the Great Hall to reluctantly join the festivities. He had also wore his Order of Merlin medal on his regular robes, knowing full well if he didn't he would regret it. It was the first time he had taken the medal out to look at since he had gotten it. He knew that even if there were those at the party that gave him a hard time about the medal, he would wear it, even if it only pleased Hermione. She had worked too hard to make sure he got the medal, that to leave it in his room would be an insult to her. Once in the Great Hall he made his way to the darkest corner that he could find.

Hermione had spent the afternoon deciding what she was going to wear. She wanted something that would not make her look, or at least feel, like some piece of meat that the men were trying to get a hold of. Finally settling on a soft mango color she adorned herself with the same jewelry as the year before and let her hair fall down her back, the front spelled back to stay out of her eyes. Her dress was a loose fitting number with a halter top and flared at her hips to end half way down her shins.

She did not want to go to the party, it would mean she would have to dance with every suitor vying for her hand, and she wanted none of them. But there was little else she could do. She could not feign illness, though she had confiscated enough of the Weasley twin's oddities to provide her with everything from constipation to nosebleeds and puking, nor could she run. Though running was very high on her list of immediate desires, perhaps more reminiscent of a rabbit bolting for the nearest warren than anything. With a deep sigh she looked at her reflection in the mirror and tried not to frown. She would have to put on a happy face, she would be marrying one of the men she would dance with tonight in three days time wither, she liked it or not.

"All right Hermione." She coached herself in the mirror, standing up straight and taking a deep breath. "You can do this. Go enjoy your last party as a free and single woman." Then she walked determinedly out of her rooms and out to meet the people in the Great Hall.

From Severus' vantage point he could see as everyone entered the room. As he surveyed those in attendance it came immediately to his notice that there were people at the party that had not been previously. Young Draco was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, as always. Victor Krum stood talking to Oliver Wood while the pair were surrounded by a few twittering girls and he saw Marcus Flint near the punch bowl. He was not quite sure but the presence of these new additions was rather unsettling to him, though he did not know why.

His contemplation was cut short when he spied Hermione enter the Great Hall. His breathe caught in his throat and he had to take a moment to collect his thoughts. She was in a peach/mango colored dress that hinted at her womanly curves and made her skin glow. Her amber colored hair fell soft across her back and he could see her Order of Merlin sparkle from her left shoulder. He wanted very much to tell her she was the most beautiful woman in the room, but he could not bring himself to put his heart out for her to see so clearly. He had already felt the ding of unrelented love once, he would not let another render his heart as had Lily's marriage to James. He watched as she surveyed the room and her eyes settled on the knot of red headed Weasleys. As she made her way to them she was lost in the crowd and he did not see her again for some time.

Hermione went to the group of Weasleys with a hint of trepidation. She did not want to meet Ron immediately. She knew he would endeavor not to leave her side once he believed he had gained it. Thankfully for her he had not come from his chambers yet and she was able to steal away Harry for a moment. During their conversation he promised that he would rescue her from any disastrous dances with her suitors. Ginny was understanding and was willing to part with her fiancé when needed for the night. They had made it official the second day of the Marriage law.

Endeavoring to stay on the move, and as such harder to pin down she floated around the room, purposefully avoiding the areas where she could see any of those who were there for her hand. Spying Severus glowering in the corner she suddenly decided that she would risk injury. She decided that even if things were to change in a less than ideal manner, at least it would be no worse than never knowing at all, she hoped.

The next time that he saw Hermione it was directly before the speeches began. She had come to stand beside him as she had the year before. "Good evening Severus." She said kindly. "I see that you have warn your medal. I believe it suites you."

"I still have my miss giving's about what deeds warranted such a prize, but since it was by no little effort it was gained, I decided I should be wear it." He told her carefully. She smiled at this, planting a little seed of warmth in his heart. She seemed to stand reluctantly for a moment, appearing to be on the verge of saying something, but unsure of how she should or could say it. "What is your question?" He asked after a moment of watching her fret, though he believed she did not know she was so transparent with her distress.

"Well, I would like to speak with you again after the party, or at least in a few hours. This year I cannot escape as quickly as in years past. I must dance with those who are trying for my hand. I really don't want to, but I have little choice as I said I would allow them each one dance. I don't know how long it will take, so I cannot ask you to stay at the party, where I know you are uncomfortable. I am as well, but it seems that it is for different reasons." She told him.

"I see." He said.

"I would normally ask to speak with you tomorrow, but seeing as it will be too late, I cannot wait. This is a discussion that must be had tonight." She was wringing her hands tightly and her eyes were down cast, feeling very venerable.

"Very well." He said after a moment of contemplation. "I shall stay at the party until you have done what you must. But only on the condition that we speak in my chambers this time. I shall need the comforting sanctuary of my own chambers after enduring such a trying experience."

Hermione stood dumbfounded for nearly a full minute gazing at him. She had never expected him to willingly stay at the party for as long as she needed to take to fulfill her obligations. "Thank you." She stammered after an exceedingly long pause. "I don't know how to thank you enough."

He was relieved of the obligation of replying by the lights dimming and the lights brightening on the stage at the far end of the room, announcing the speeches were about to begin. Just as the year before the roll of those who had received the Order of Merlin awards was called, but unlike the year before, his name was also called. There was shocked silence with scattered applause after his name was called. He continued to glower and inclined his head briefly.

Once the speeches were over he saw Hermione visibly stiffen and her eyes go wide in terror, looking for all the world like an animal ready to bolt. His eyes instinctively swept the room and he saw all of the men he had noticed before coming in their direction. He watched as Neville came to her side before the others and asked her rather haltingly if she would like to dance. He was astonished to see that with a sigh she agreed and he lead her out to the dance floor.

Severus had not asked Hermione about what was going on now that she was going to be forced to marry. All he knew about what was going on was what she had told him the night he had given her the sleeping Potion. He knew that she was or already had finished planning her wedding, but still lacked a groom. It seemed strange to him, but as it usually fell to the women to make such preparations he did not question it too much. He was quite certain though, that her wedding was going to occur very soon.

He watched as first Neville, then Ron danced with Hermione. When Victor Krum turned up beside her asking to dance he saw there was a terrible flash of resentment between the two men, but Ron stepped reluctantly aside as Victor took her hand. He watched as she floated across the dance floor with Victor. It was obvious they would make a lovely couple, where as the other two seemed bent on squishing her toes. As he watched her change off to dance with Wood, who had bowed low, his musings were broken into by a voice. He had been watching her plastered on smile come close to wavering several times and marveled at how she could seem pleasant, but he could see in her eyes she was terribly upset.

"Hello Severus." He heard Lupin say from beside him. He did not look at him and continued to watch Hermione gracefully float across the dance floor.

"Good evening." He replied. "Everything went well with you last week I presume."

"Yes, everything went as well as can be expected, thanks to you. I really must renew my thanks." Lupin said.

"Precautions cannot be taken lightly." Severus replied. "All of my Potions are of the highest quality possible with the ingredients I am able to acquire. To do anything else would defeat the purpose of being a Master."

"Well spoken." Lupin said. "I was both surprised and glad to hear that you received an Order of Merlin. I believe you deserve it. You have certainly endured enough as a spy to earn one." Severus gave a noncommittal grunt to this, not trusting himself to speak. Lupin was quiet for a time and watched Severus watch Hermione. "She really is quite beautiful." He commented offhandedly.

"Who?" Severus grunted, sounding uninterested, but he was anything but.

"Hermione." Lupin said. "I know that I would have petitioned for her hand if Tonks and I had been unable to be bound. Tonks works at the Ministry." Lupin said, answering Severus' unasked question. "When she caught wind of what was going to be in the Marriage Law she came and told me. We discussed it and we signed our contract the day before the law was passed. We were one of a few of the lucky ones."

"There are very few that will be lucky now." Severus growled. "But I doubt she would have accepted your hand. You are old enough to be her father."

"Well I still would have offered. I know there are very few Purebloods that were not somehow attached to the Death Eaters. She is vulnerable in the fact that she is so closely connected to Potter. Many hold resentment against her as well as she was one of us that cast the killing curse to finish Him off. I would have offered her a relatively safe alternative to bedding a loyal Death Eater." Lupin told him. "I fear what might happen if she marries a man with strong ties that are not as fallow as they would like them to appear."

"She is a strong soul." Severus told him, though he knew with a bit of dread in his stomach, Lupin was right.

"A strong soul can still be overcome or broken." Lupin said. "I am sure that you have seen that first hand."

"Far too many times." He mumbled begrudgingly.

"I have heard that she is doing something interesting to pick a husband though." Lupin said. "Neville came to me for dance lessons a week ago. Why me, I'm unsure, but he did. He says that there is a test of charm that he must pass if he is to have a chance for her hand. Perhaps she has something up her sleeve. I have found that there is more to her than what is on the surface. Perhaps she will make out better than I fear."

"Perhaps." He said ever so carefully.

"Well, I must be going, I promised Tonks I would dance the next song with her, I must go find her. I wish you the best of luck with whomever you have petitioned. I hope you get a good woman, you deserve it." Lupin told him, disappearing into the crowd.

Severus watched now as Crabbe nearly fell over as he tried very unsuccessfully to dance. She had danced with Goyle as he had talked with Lupin. He had not been good either, but at least he didn't almost flatten her. He watched rather begrudgingly as Hermione gave the first real smile on the dance floor to Potter as he came to rescue her from the blundering clutches of Crabbe. He watched as she relaxed and leaned against his chest and envy blossomed in his again. When the song was finished, he watched as Potter handed her over to the clutches of Marcus Flint. He tried to dance with her, but it was more of an exercise in pain as he repeatedly mashed her toes beneath his feet and smiled menacingly at her while he did so.

He could see the relief on her face when the song ended, though it was short lived as he watched her take the hand of Draco. His young godson thought too highly of himself, Severus thought. He may be one of the better dancers, but it did not give him the right to leer at her in such a grotesque manner. Although he did have to give Draco enough credit not to mash her feet into oblivion, he had obviously picked up a desire for flare from his father.

As the song was ending and the band getting ready to begin another he finally had had enough of Draco and his smirks. He could see that Hermione wanted nothing but to melt into the floor and escape while Draco was still holding onto her quite determinedly. Potter was on the other end of the dance floor holding Ginny tightly and it was obvious to Severus that Potter would not be coming to the rescue this time. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He knew that he would have to do something. She had been a friend to him, now it was his time to return the favor, no matter what it did to his pride. He was flushing his pride down the toilet anyways by allowing the Ministry to pick his wife; he might as well start towards the edge of humiliation when it was his choice.

Steeling himself he stalked his way onto the dance floor where Hermione was trying to stiffly avoid dancing with Draco who was insisting that she dance with him again. With a scowl he walked up behind Hermione.

"Miss Granger." He spoke much more calmly than he felt. He had forced himself to address her in the tone he used to converse with her over dinner in the lab. "It would seem that it shall fall to my lot to show you how a real wizard dances." He offered out his hand. She had turned her head towards him with a look of astonished relief on her face.

"So, my godfather has an interest in the little mudblood I see." Draco sneered, eyeing the Order of Merlin hanging from Severus' robes. "Go away old man; go find your own spoils of War." Draco began to try to pull Hermione farther towards the dance floor.

"Remember this lesson well, ferret boy." Severus hissed, his wand seeming to materialize in his hand pointing menacingly at Draco's forehead, just between his eyes. Draco's sneer faltered and his face became an ashen grey. Severus could see a flame of fear ignite in his eyes. "I have a fully functioning wand, where you clear clogged toilets by hand at the Ministry. I was also in _His_ service longer than you have been alive. I know spells that could rend you so quickly you would not know what occurred until you were lying on the ground begging for a death that will not come. It is wise to remember who your elders are and respect them child." Severus lowered his wand and it was returned from whence it came. Hermione had drawn back to watch the proceedings in shock as the exchange took place.

Draco's minions returned to his side when he beckoned them with a flick of his head. Draco glared at Severus with hate in his eyes. "Come Crabbe, Goyle, there is little fun to be had at this party tonight. Let us retire so that we will be more rested than any others, we shall use our extra sleep as an advantage in tomorrow's test." He swept past Severus with great airs and out of the Great Hall. Severus watched them go with great anger. He hoped that whatever the test was that they would all fall, miserably.

"Thank you so much Severus." Hermione breathed. He looked back at her and saw a genuine smile of relief spread across her face and pointed in his direction. "I don't know how much longer I could take him trying to manhandle me out onto the dance floor again. He is that last person I ever want to dance with again. Ick!" She was running her hands down her arms as if she were trying to wipe him off of her.

After a moment of silence where Severus was watching her, she turned to him and stepped in front of him. "So," she said, looking at him expectantly and a great big smile on her face. He could see that this was genuine as it was reflected in her eyes as well. "Show me, as you so eloquently put it, how a real wizard dances."

"Yes milady." He said with a bow. "I am a man of my word." He held out his hand and she placed her hand in his. His hand was warm and dry, unlike the cold clammy hands of most of the others she had danced with. She took a large step and stood nearly flush with him, barely a hairsbreadth between her dress and his robes. She placed her other hand on his upper arm. Reaching around he allowed himself to rest his hand along her spine and let it settle in the small of her back. A waltz had begun and he led off, guiding her gracefully across the dance floor, her skirt and his robes billowing around them.

"It is a pleasant surprise to learn you can dance, and so spectacularly too." She commented, smiling up at him. "From the comment you made at the end of year dance it was as if you did not know how."

"It is the only other good thing, besides teaching me to ride, that my father ever taught me. He believed that every well breed wizard should know how to ride well and dance well." He told her a bit reluctantly. "It is rare for me to ever find the need to exhibit either talent my father believed to be so important."

"Well, if those are the marks of a well breed wizard, then I can say that you are the only one I have danced with all evening. You have a grace about you that lends well to the dance floor as well as to riding." She smiled at him, making his heart swell.

"Thank you." He said with a slight smirk.

"You're welcome." She said and leaned in closer so that her head rested on his chest as the song slowed. "I really do think you're a great horseman and dancer as well. If it were for nothing else, my poor toes thank you very much indeed for rescuing them." He gave a slightly amused grunt. She smiled against his chest.

He had been astonished that she actually wanted to dance with him, asking for him to make good on his offer. He had rather expected that she would have wanted to bolt as soon as possible. But as Draco had just left through the same door she would have to, it may have been reasonable for her to stay. He was a man of his word and so when she made it clear that she had not problem dancing with him he complied.

He was surprised by her willingness to stand so close to him and accept his hand upon her back in such an intimate manner. When she laid her head against his chest his heart rate jumped dramatically. She was so beautiful and so accepting, it was all he could do from attempting to kiss her, even if I was just on the top of her head. The song ended and she drew back to look up at him with a thankful smile.

"Thank you for the dance Severus." She told him.

He inclined his head slightly with a shadow of a smirk. "I could not let you leave tonight with the opinion that all Purebloods are bad dancers. There are still a few among us that know how to exhibit a woman's beauty on the dance floor properly." A blush rose in her cheeks as she glanced at the floor.

"I shall leave you now and let you dance with your next suitor. I will wait where I was before; seek me out when you are ready to leave." He inclined his head again slightly and then turned to leave.

"Wait." She said to him, reaching out her hand and catching his sleeve. "I have no more suitors that I am forced to dance with, Draco was the last one. I have no reason to stay any longer. All I ask for is enough time to say goodnight to my friends. It should only take a moment."

"Very well." Severus said. "I shall wait in the hall." He turned and swept out of the Great Hall to nearly no one's notice. Hermione then turned and went in search of those she needed to bid goodnight.

"So, Snape dances." Harry said when she came beside him. "That is something I never thought I would see. You seemed like you enjoyed dancing with him Monie."

"Yes, I did." She said, throwing caution to the wind. "He has a grace few others have and it seems he knows how to dance very well."

"When you two danced it was exquisite." Ginny told her with awe. "It was as if he had turned into another person on the dance floor. The way he guided the dance and seemed to showcase you was almost like poetry in motion. I have only read about those who can draw every eye to themselves and their partner with such finesse. I would have never guessed such a dark brooding man could dance with such power."

"You are not the only one." She said. "But to speak of dancing is not why I am here. I came to bid you all a good night. I really cannot stay her any longer, I must get some rest. If anyone asks I retired early because I was in need of a headache potion." She told them. "Besides there are a few last minute preparations I must finish before the test tomorrow."

"You are the one giving the test." Harry said. "You don't need to study." He smiled at her. "You work yourself too hard."

"Very funny." She said punching him in the shoulder lightly. "You really should keep your man on a tighter leash Ginny; they can get into trouble if allowed too much slack." Harry tried unsuccessfully to look hurt, while Ginny snickered behind her hand. "As for working too hard I will say I shall not disagree, but it will all be over soon enough. Well, goodnight, I don't want to linger in one spot for too long or else one of my suitors will attempt a second dance and I don't think my feet could take that."

"Be gone then." Ginny said. "I do believe Ron the toe-smasher is headed this way." She waved Hermione towards the door. "I will meet you at the barn at one tomorrow."

"See you then." Hermione said and began to make her way carefully towards the door, avoiding eye contact with anyone and somehow managing to avoid all her want to be husbands. Once in the hallway she looked cautiously around, half expecting to get waylaid by Malfoy and his thugs. She caught sight of Severus leaning against the banister of the great staircase and crossed to stand before him.

"You needn't worry about young Draco or his dimwitted sidekicks." He told her as if he had read her mind. "I have sent Dobby on a mission of sorts. Dobby will make sure young Master Malfoy and his friends get to their chambers tonight, and that they stay there until at least first light; by whatever means he deems necessary." He said this gravely, but there was a slight menace of a smirk on his face. He seemed quite sure that Dobby would not be overly kind about 'whatever means necessary'.

"Thank you." She sighed. "You have saved me from worry yet again tonight, though in all truthfulness I will not feel totally safe until I am behind a well warded door."

"Well then," he said standing straight and offering out his arm. "I suppose we should head for my chambers to talk then. And I am in need of a good stiff drink after all those people." Hermione smiled at him again and took his arm as he led her towards the dungeons.

**A/N: *girly squeal!!* Snape Dances!!! *sigh* what a picture… ok I'm back from my little mental holiday, nuts. Well I hope you can all see things are picking up speed now and drawing towards a conclusion. Never fear there will be at least 44 chapters in this story, I'm finishing up 43 tonight, so there is more coming. (a few of you have asked my secret for being able to post so fast, well… *glances around* *whispering* I have chapters written ahead before I even begin to post, that way I know I can finish the story before I get people reading it. I don't like it very much when fics are left abandoned.) **

**The challenge for those who wish to participate is still open, for specifics refer to the previous 2 chapters. The next chapter is the last time you get to guess. And I must say, what cheeky answers I have gotten from some of you! they are most definitely some of the more amusing reviews I have had. I very well may have to put some sort of honorable mention for those who made me laugh with such off the wall suggestions! For those who haven't read the reviews with guess I would encourage you to do so, they are quite funny. **

**Thanks to all those who have reviewed. I really love the feed back and what you all think of my fic! I would also like to give a big thanks to my beta and fan fic 'sis' skydancinghobbit for putting up with me and keeping everyone in character. Check her fics out if you get a chance. Until the next posting! Dragons Quill**


	38. Confessions of an Ex Death Eater

**A/N: thanks for the wonderful reviews you guys, I just love to hear what you all think! as for quiero queso, thinking I should post everything at once, well what fun would there be in that? besides I am posting every day, or nearly every day. besides if I posted them all at once you would really find out how long it takes me to write a well thought out and in character chapter, especially when I go crawling to my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit for reassurances that they are in fact, in character. I do have my own insecurities about my writing too. **

**As for the chapter title it should tell you that this has some pretty heavy content. This delves into what he did, saw and experienced in his time as a Death Eater. I have not written anything graphic here, and I try to be tactful about alluding to it, but still, heed the warning if you are sensitive to those types of things and come back next chapter. I do feel that it is an important chapter, but I will say if you don't think you can handle it, please don't read it, I don't need to cause anyone any undue stress. I hope that those of you that do read it like what I have written. **

_Confessions of an Ex-Death Eater _(38)

**WARNING: this chapter has mentions of rape, murder, torture and kidnapping. If you don't want to read it, I suggest that you wait until next chapter. Nothing is graphic, but it is mentioned, (in the past tense) consider yourself warned. **

Severus led Hermione to his chambers in much the same way that they went to his lab. She held his arm and they walked in silence, well he walked she tried not to limp. When they got to his chamber doors she hung back out of respect for his privacy and let him open the door for her. He stepped aside and let her enter first, the hearth and candles flaring to life as she entered. He closed the door and she felt the wards re-solidify behind her. She was able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Fawkes looked to be asleep on his perch when she entered.

"Would you like something to drink?" He asked her, motioning to the cupboard where he kept such things.

"No, but thank you." She said. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable again; this was not going to be an easy conversation to have, especially with him. She wanted to have her mind clear when she did so. "I really must speak with you about something of great importance." She crossed over to sit on the couch they had fallen asleep on the summer before. Seeing the distress upon her face again he crossed to sit a measured distance away from her on the couch.

"Of course, what is it that you would desire to discuss?" He asked cautiously.

"I… I don't exactly know how to ask this without sounding like I'm prying." She admitted her gaze firmly pointed at her knees. "But it is something that I really must know. If I don't ask I know that I shall never forgive myself for not at least finding out. I don't want to have any regrets when I get married in three days."

"In three days?!" He said with great alarm. "Isn't that soon!"

"I pick the man I will marry tomorrow, well actually another will be doing it for me, but it is one that I trust. His judgment has not failed me yet."

"Certainly not Potter." He growled slightly.

"No, not Harry." She said. "I can't tell you the particulars though. I have sworn those who are helping me to secrecy and I am as well. I want everyone who will be taking the test to be equally uninformed about what it will be. Whoever passes the test will be my husband. I cannot forestall the inevitable forever. The Ministry sees women like me as little more than broodmares. The sooner I start the sooner I can end and be done with it all."

"Not everyone looks upon a woman with only her womb in mind." Severus said a bit stiffly. "There are still a few that desire a woman for other reasons."

"I sure hope so." She sighed.

"You said you had a question for me." He prompted after a moment of looking at her sitting so dejectedly beside him.

"Yes," she nodded. "But I am afraid that it one of a personal matter and I must ask it, but I loathe to intrude upon what I know you keep private."

"As you seem to think that whatever this question entails is exceedingly important, and I have found that you know how to keep private counsel when it is called for; I will be inclined to answer your question." He said, reluctantly allowing her permission to ask and in turn promising to answer. He inwardly flinched at the vulnerability of the situation. He hoped she would realize the power she held and that she would be kind to his now exposed heart.

"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly. He nodded reluctantly. She gave a heavy sigh. "I was wondering, how you have made out with the Marriage Law. Did the woman you petition give you her reply yet?"

Severus stiffened with this question. This was the time that he would have to step up to the plate and be a man or he would fall flat into a pit of his own making. With a deep sigh he got up and headed towards his liquor cabinet, he was going to need a drink if he was going to do this. "No," he said. "I have received no answer, because I have sent out no question. I have resigned myself to letting the Ministry choose my bride."

"What!?!" She said sitting bolt upright with her eyes wide. "As a person who I know prides themselves on having control over their life, you are the last person I would expect to throw themselves to the mercy of the Ministry wolves! Surely there is at least one muggleborn woman that you desire!"

"Yes Hermione, there is a woman that I pine for, but I can no more impose myself upon her life than I can change my past. I could not burden her with the indiscretions of my squandered youth, my dirty deeds as a Death Eater. She would be better off marrying another than allying her life with mine. I will be have to be content knowing that she is better off with someone else than she ever could be with me. I will marry who the Ministry picks for me. I have been rejected enough in my life; at least my wife and I will be of a similar mind on that." He poured himself a drink and crossed over to stand in front of the couch.

"There is still time to tell her, still time to petition." She said, looking at him desperately for his own sake. "Surely you will not let pass such an opportunity to tell this woman you love her."

"For her to ally her life would mine would only tarnish her reputation. It has shown bright since the day that I met her, though at the time I was loath to admit it. In the years since I have come to enjoy her company very much, but to ask her for something more would be barbaric of me to do. She deserves to have a man that is just as beautiful and intelligent as she is." He downed his Firewhisky and levitated the cup to the mantle with a flick of his wrist. "She deserves someone who does not have such a dark past." He scowled down at her with his arms crossed.

"Does this woman know how you feel?" She asked. "Does she know that you love her?"

"I don't believe she does." He said turning his head away. "I have tried to shield her from knowing for fear she would take up some crusade in my honor, because she would think she could help me I'm sure. No one can help me; there is nothing left that can be fixed." He growled, sounding like an injured animal.

"Severus." She said carefully, her mind racing, unsure if she had understood what he might be saying. "Who is this woman that you speak of? Do I know her?"

"Yes Hermione, you know her. You know her _very _well." He growled.

She got up and stood in front of him and he would not meet her gaze. "Is it me?" She asked with a frightened inflection in her voice that she did not mean to be there.

"You cannot save me. I cannot be saved no matter what you try. My past is too dark; I have done too many evil things. I cannot ask you to be bound to a man such as I have become." He growled in his throat, looking away from her. "I could not burden you with my past."

"Your past is just that, the past." She said reaching out to touch his shoulder, but she drew back slightly as he jumped when she touched him. "I can handle what you have done. I know that you did not do anything without a purpose in mind."

"What do you know of my past?!" He growled angrily turning to her with hurt anger in his eyes. "You don't know the horrors that I have seen, have participated in, have committed!"

"I know a great deal of it." She said softly.

"Do you know how many people I have killed?" He hissed. "How many of them were women and children? How much blood I have on these hands?" He held out his hands in front of her face and shook them. "I may have killed for reasons different than what my fellow Death Eaters killed for, but that does not make me any less of a murderer." Looking at her face, showing no great change he endeavored to explain and if he must, push her as far away as possible. He would push her away before she had a chance to strike out even further at his heart. He would make her see why he was not a man to be bound to.

"We would go on raids." He told her. "We would take families from their beds and we would separate them. The others would take the women and violate them, the young girls as well. I would go on as many of these raids as possible with the express intention of killing the children and if I could the women. I could not watch them be tortured until they begged for a death that was slow in coming. I could not watch them rend the children until there was nothing left.

My temper, I soon learned to hone and use as a tool. There is a reason Draco paled so considerably upon my threat tonight. He knows to have a healthy respect of my temper. I became quick to anger and quick to kill those who irked it. I used that as a reason many a time to blast away a prisoner or a fellow Death Eater alike. I am known as a remorseless killer even by Death Eater standards. There is a reason I rose in the ranks of Voldemort's followers so quickly. I was one of the greatest killers that He had, one of the most efficient and I did so without complaint. I knew that for every woman or child I killed, there would be one less for the likes of Lucius to rape and torture until at long last the last of their life drained from their ruined bodies. I have even killed my one true friend, Albus Dumbledore. I could not escape even that, I was too much of a coward. I was bound to kill him or die. I choose the coward's way. I chose to kill him." He growled angrily, the grief he still felt over the issue laid rumbling beneath the anger.

"Don't you see Hermione; I am not even human anymore. I am a monster, one that patted itself on the back for every child that fell at my hands, for every mother that I slew. I am not a person anyone should ever be bound to. I could not ask you of all people, one of such grace, beauty and goodness to ever be bound to me. That is why I shall let the Ministry pick my bride. Two undesirables in a marriage where neither will be brought down into the quagmire with the other, we will both be at the same wretched place." He turned away dejectedly from her.

Hermione looked at him with a touch of sadness in her eyes. This admission of his past was not all new to her. She had seen and understood much of what he had just told her from the pensieves she had seen nearly three years before.

"Severus," she implored. "You are no monster. You many have killed many, but many were mercy killings. There is no greater gift than you could have given those you killed quickly. They were spared the suffering and humiliation that others would have caused. It was an honorable thing to do."

"There is no honor in murder." He hissed angrily turning back to her. "I will not be told otherwise. Did you not hear what I told you? I was glad to commit murder of those who were innocent. I am no better than Voldemort."

"But you have a good heart; he had no heart at all." She said looking at him sternly. "There is something I must show you. I never thought that I would, but it seems that I have little choice, but to show you what it is that I do know. I will need you to do something for me though. I need you to look into my memories. I need you to see what I have, what I feel about it, to let you know why I believe that you are indeed an honorable and worthy partner to be bound to. Why I have defended you at court and to those around us."

"I am not a man to be trusted." He tried to convince her. "I am the last person you should even consider letting look into your thoughts, your memories, your very soul."

"I trust you." She told him confidently. "And I know that you trust me to some degree as well. Employ that trust. Look into my memories, feel what I have felt. I believe that it will ease your pain."

"I know what it is to endure a mental rape; I will not subject you or anyone else to that. Not when I have a choice." He growled at her, intent upon driving her away.

"Come, sit." She said to him grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the couch. She sat and pulled on his arm until he acquiesced, angrily. "I know that you would not do that, that is why I trust you. I also know a fair bit of Occlumency and am confident that I could expel you from my mind if you got too probative. You need to trust my trust in you. Please." She implored looking into his face; he still would not meet her eyes.

After another moment's contemplation he finally came to a decision. He knew that she would not leave until she was satisfied; this was something he could not avoid. Finally meeting her eyes he saw a fierce determination and warmth in their depths. "Just remember that this was not my choice to invade your mind, you brought it upon yourself. _Legilimens._" He said and entered into her mind.

Hermione felt him enter into her mind and although she was slightly startled by the power of his presence she nonetheless offered him a welcoming feeling. She had never experienced anyone with as much power as he held at his disposal enter into her mind, she wondered vaguely if she could have barred him if she had wanted to. She could also feel that he was hesitant to be there and that he held great reins on his power. Pushing forward her memories and feelings from the time that she spent in the penseives she allowed him the leisure of seeing at his own choice of speeds. She would let him look through them how he chose for as long as he needed, she had all night.

Severus for his part felt as she had a touch of what he thought might be indecision as he entered her mind. But he could not deny that there was an overriding feeling of a comforting welcome. He also felt that he was being assessed by her on the manner of his intrusion, but before he could have a chance to determine anything more than a passing feeling of it he was presented with her first memory. He remembered the scene before him with utmost clarity. It was the night he had gone to Dumbledore in what he believed to be the vain hope of saving Lilly from death or worse.

Over the next hour he went through all of the memories that he found in reference to himself and his past. He even saw a glimpse of what she thought of him as her teacher, not all of the feelings good, but he saw them none the less. He went on the emotional rollercoaster ride that had been her own dealings with what she had learned. He also came into contact of her more recent memories of him. How she felt about her time spent in the lab, and even the memory of waking up on the couch. Drawing himself carefully from her mind, making sure he did not cause any damage he sat back against the arm of the couch, mild shock rendering him unable to speak for a short time.

He had seen what she truly felt about him; he had felt that she had held nothing back from him. He was amazed and horrified by the fact that she had known so much about his past and where she had learned it. He was also heartened by the fact that she had not come to hate him because of his past. The fact that she had kept what she knew quiet and not revealing his private life to anyone else for such a long time was something he was amazed and thankful for.

Hermione felt drained by the time he finally left her mind. She felt as if there was nothing left secret any longer, but she knew that there was a great deal he had not seen. He had only seen her memories of how she felt about him. What he did with the information was now up to him. She had done everything within her power to let him know that she wanted him as much as it seemed he had wanted her. Sitting silently beside him for a moment, trying to catch her breath she finally broke the silence and spoke to him.

"I choose who I will marry tomorrow. I have set forth a test for all of those who have sought my hand. It is a test that I know only one man will be able to pass. The man who can pass the test tomorrow has already passed the test, last year about this time. If that person does not come tomorrow I will have to choose the one that comes the closest to achieving what I require." She rose and stood beside him. He still had the look of glazed shock on his face, but she could see his eyes were trained on her face. She leaned down so that her mouth was beside his ear.

"Severus," she said quietly, "please don't stick me with Neville." Then she gave him a soft lingering kiss on his cheek and left his chambers, leaving him to stare towards the flames dancing in the hearth. Fawkes had been watching the whole ordeal and hummed quietly in his chest.

She had known his past and she had chosen to trust him, maybe even love him, not because she did not know his past, but because, despite, the fact she knew his past.

**A/N: well I suppose if you are reading this than you were brave enough to continue reading after my little speech at the beginning. Thanks, I hope that I was not something that you regret doing. I know I might sound just a bit paranoid, but I don't feel like screwing up, getting reported for something unintentional and then get kicked off. That would just be bad. I would no longer have 'instant' feed back from those who read what I have written. Ok I really am done with my little rant now. **

**The big question now looms, what will Severus do with this information? also, what exactly is the test? This is your last chance to guess if you want. If you don't know the specifics of the guessing game by now then you haven't been reading authors notes, so you probably won't be reading this either, which would make this statement totally useless, but that is beside the point. I suppose I shall put it down and waste hard drive space on principle then. anyway, next chapter is the test. **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. please review, and as always, a big wonderful cyber hug to my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit for putting up with my insecurities and beating me with the comma stick. I really don't think I would recognize the significance of the almighty comma if she didn't beat it into my head on a regular basis. Thanks so much, it really does help. Smile. Until then next update- Dragons Quill**


	39. A Test of 'Charm'ing

**A/N: All righty then, this chapter, as promised is dedicated to: (in order of correct answers received) **

**Super-girl-straight-from-hell**

**Twillite Prowler**

**Hannalucky**

**Sampdoria**

**Quiero queso **

**Canary17**

**Angela **

**Heidi191976**

**And an honorable mention goes to **

**Lotus elise- I really would like to see Severus hula hoop (side effects may include nightmares, just like the reference to Dumbledore I made in my other story meddling 101), same thing applies for anything alluding to the teletubies!**

**Oscarxena- for her entertaining version of events, the chess game on horse back was a nice touch, and I can agree, I don't think any of them could do such a hard packed day, even with polyjuice (nice touch that it reacts with the alcohol, wonder what exactly that reaction entails *grin evilly*) **

**Skydancinghobbit- ok well as my beta she already knew by like chapter 5 what the test was going to be, no make that chapter 1, she saw my outline in excel. (ahh! The skeletal remains of a story!), perhaps I should have put in a disclaimer mentioning that relatives and or associates with the author in life outside of fanfiction were not eligible to apply. Probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Sigh. **

**For the rest of you that guessed, there were some that were actually partially correct, but left out or added something just too big to let it slide, sorry, but I would like to give a big thanks to everyone who did participate and guess in my little 'contest' of sorts. I know the responses I got were quite entertaining. **

**Ok enough blabber from me, I know you all want to know what the test is so I shall let you at it. Have fun, I know I had a great deal of fun writing this chapter!!**

_A Test of 'Charm'-ing _(39)

The next day Hermione woke up later than she had originally planned, but it was still before most of the people had even endeavored to move much farther than the remedies beside their beds. She lay between her covers for a few minutes. She felt totally drained and listless. She did not want to get up and go down to the Great Hall. She did not want to go down to the barns. And she most definitely did not want to get engaged to marry any of the boys that she had danced with the night before. If she was going to get engaged, she wanted it to be the man that had rescued her from Draco, the man that she had, despite her better judgment, had fallen in love with. She wanted to marry Severus Snape. She did not know if he was going to show up to the test, or even if he had gotten her meaning when she had told him, cryptically, what the test was and that he had already passed it. She hoped desperately that he had.

Finally deciding that she could not stay in bed all day and hide from the inevitable, she crawled from beneath her comforter to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a comfortable, clean t-shirt. Wandering down to the Great hall she ate what she could and took a couple extra pieces of buttered toast to give to the horses. It was about ten when she got to the Great Hall and at about ten thirty people began to trickle in. she decided that she would exit in a timely fashion as to avoid being caught unaware by any of her over eager suitors. Luckily she was able to make it out of the castle and to the stables without being halted.

When she got to the stables she leaned almost dejectedly between the two stalls that held Prince and Lucy. Both looked out of their stall doors and nickered softly. She went first to Lucy and gave her a piece of toast that was fully enjoyed, and then she went to Prince. He was most interested in the tasty treat she presented him with and ate it with great relish, and spit.

"Oh, Prince." She said running her hand along his head. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to get engaged, at least not like this." She sighed heavily. "I'm counting on you, you know. You had better not let me down. All I ask is that you don't kill anyone today. That just would not be good for anyone. If it comes to it, let Neville come at least part way. He is the only one of those who I believe I could bear if Severus does not come for my hand." With the mention of Severus' name Prince gave a soft welcoming nicker. It was obvious that Prince had a soft spot for him as well. With a deep sigh she decided that she would get things ready for when the test was to take place.

Gathering straight pieces of hay from beside her she transformed each of them into a sizable stick with a curl at the end that would be able to hold a piece of rope. Then she took a pair of lead ropes and lengthened them until they were approximately three hundred feet apiece. Believing she had enough she made her way out to the castle lawns to about the same place that she and Severus had trained the year before.

Putting the stakes into the ground at even intervals she then threaded the rope through them to make an alleyway about six feet across and three hundred feet long. Seeming satisfied she then went back into the stables and grabbed a bucket. Transforming the bucket into a mounting block she took it to the far end and placed it to the side. Then she took her wand and painted a line about three feet into the alleyway on both ends, and making the end with the mounting block a box. Seeming satisfied and realizing she had only killed about a half hour she stalked her way back to the barns.

Saddling Prince and Lucy she mounted Lucy and lead Prince out to the makeshift alleyway where the test was going to occur. She had left Prince's bridle off, tied to the saddle and ground tied him in the alley way to graze. Seeing that Prince was quite content to graze and troll around his lead line without wandering very far, she kicked Lucy into a gallop. She raced across the castle lawns at breakneck speed towards the lake. It was exhilarating to feel the wind whipping her hair back and the cool breeze on her face. For the first time that day she felt totally free and without a worry. Before they got to the lake she turned Lucy back in the direction they had come and galloped back towards Prince. Slowing Lucy to a canter she began to work circles and figure eights beside the alleyway, feeling rejuvenated by the powerful footfalls of her horse beneath her and the fluid movement of her muscles as she executed another flying lead change.

As she was cooling Lucy down a small crowd began to gather on the side of the alleyway closest to the castle. It would seem that the whole castle had heard about what was going to happen. Deciding that she should get Prince she dismounted Lucy who seemed thankful for a rest after her workout, she had bid her 'Stay' at the end without the mounting block. Walking to the middle of the alleyway where she had left Prince she avoided the steaming pile of 'fertilizer' he had left and grabbed his lead line to take him to stand next to Lucy. She removed his lead rope and slipped his bridle over his halter.

At about this time Ginny, McGonagall, Madame Pomfery, a Ministry Official and the group of suitors intent on her hand came down to the alleyway, making their way through the gathering crowd. She did not see Severus among them and her heart fell.

"Hello Hermione." Ginny called when they had gotten close. "We have brought your test subjects." She smiled wickedly. "Come boys this way." She said leading them towards the other end of the alleyway.

"Hermione." McGonagall said approaching her. "This is Albertus Bones; he is the Ministry Official that will be overseeing today's testing. The Ministry feels that since this is so close to the deadline, as it is tomorrow at midnight, that it must be officiated by the Minsitry." She could see McGonagall trying very hard not to roll her eyes.

"Hello," Hermione said holding out her hand while holding back Prince from lunging at the man.

"Is your horse alright?" Mr. Bones asked not taking her hand because all his attention was on Prince.

"Yes, he is just fine. He just isn't very fond of guys." She said.

"But you are going to use him to do whatever your test is, are you not?"

"Don't worry, no one will get killed." She said with a smile and alighted on to Prince's back. McGonagall herded Mr. Bones down towards where the boys were gathering. Madame Pomfery had been advised that she should wait there as well.

Hermione took Prince to the far side of the alleyway and worked him for about five minutes to get the first bit of steam off the top so that he would be 'more mellow' when the boys got their turn to try. When she felt that he was warmed up enough she rode him back to Lucy and led her to the far end where the boys were gathered.

"Are we ready then?" McGonagall asked as she rode up.

"Yes." She said and got off of Prince. She stood between the horses and held both of them as McGonagall turned to the boys as well as the crowd.

"Alright. You are here to witness the selection of a fiancé by Hermione Granger. There is a test that will narrow down those who she will pick from. If there is more than one man that passes this test then there will be a duel to see who gets her hand.

The test is simple. Mount the black horse behind the white line at this end of the alleyway and ride him to around three hundred feet to the other end and dismount on the other side of the white line at that end. A mounting block has been provided for your convenience. If you fall off between the lines you will have gone as far as you can and that will end your try. You will surrender your wand to me while you attempt to ride from here to there. There will be absolutely no magic allowed during this test, if you try to use it you will be disqualified. If you leave the box at the open end of the alleyway before you have ridden the horse towards Hermione, then you will also be disqualified." She said to everyone gathered.

Hermione watched as Draco sneered and the others seemed to think that it sounded easy. Neville looked at Prince with great unease. He remembered the last time he had encountered the horse. He had nearly lost a chunk of his arm. Prince had his ears pinned, looking at all the boys, but he was standing firm and not trying to attack them… yet.

Hermione let go of Lucy and lead Prince forward the last few feet to step over the line and into the box. Turning him so that he faced in the direction he was going to have to travel in she turned to him. "Be good." She said petting his nose, he perked his ears and gave her hand a nuzzle. "Do what you do best and I can ask nothing more from you." She gave him a loving kiss on his velvety nose and then left him in the box. Then she mounted Lucy and trotted to the far end, facing Prince. She gave McGonagall a nod.

"You will all go in the order that you danced with Hermione last night." McGonagall said. "So Neville Longbottom, you are up first. Ride Prince from this end, to that end."

Neville handed McGonagall his wand and walked into the box. He looked at Prince fearfully. Prince had his ears pinned again, but he did not lunge at him as he had expected. "Hello there Prince." Neville said softly. "I am not here to hurt you." He bent cautiously down and grabbed the mounting block. Then he brought it beside Prince. Prince barred his teeth and made as if to bite at Neville. He stood his ground and did not lose a piece of his arm. Gathering up his nerve Neville climbed the mounting block and grabbed the saddle and reins. Prince let out a squeal and gave a buck as he stood in place.

Hermione watched as he blanched. Silently coaching Prince to be still long enough for Neville to get on she watched, hoping Prince would let him get at least part way. Neville, in a moment of nerve put his foot in the stirrup and tried to swing his leg over Prince's back. Prince decided halfway through this motion that he thought not. He took a swift and decisive sidestep away from the mounting block. This resulted in Neville being draped over the saddle on his stomach. Without thinking Neville tried to achieve the fetal position as he lay across his back, but managed only to cue Prince forward, nudging his sides with his elbows and knees. Prince decided that he wanted to run, and so he stepped off into a gallop.

This maneuver nearly dumped Neville off over his rump and left him clutching the saddle. After about a hundred feet Prince made the decision he had gone far enough thank you, and planted all four feet solidly on the ground, dipping his head as he did so. As it is a commonly held fact that things in motion tend to remain in motion, this principle applied directly to Neville. He was catapulted off of the saddle and became airborne for a good ten feet and landed with a painful sounding thud on the ground. Thankfully, or perhaps not, his fall was ever so slightly cushioned by the before mentioned, 'fertilizer' pile.

Prince stood where he had stopped and looked rather proud of himself. He had put his feet back under him with a slight shake, as if to rid himself of the reminder of a rider and then struck a regal pose, tail held high and ears perked forward. Hermione swore that he smiled. It had taken only five minutes to rid himself of the first suitor.

Ginny came forward and gathered up Prince's reins and lead him back to the box while Madame Pomfery went to see if Neville needed her services. Luckily he was in one, although smelly, piece. Prince nuzzled Ginny affectionately. She gave him a small pat on the nose and left the box. Prince gave a soft nicker after her.

"Ronald Weasley," McGonagall called. "You're up next." She had handed Neville back his wand and Ron relinquished his.

As Ron came forward into the box Prince's ears flattened themselves to his skull. Ron looked appraisingly at the situation and took a step towards him. Prince lowered his head, but not his nose, lining up has teeth with Ron's chest, his tail thrashed rather angrily against his flanks. Ron was bound and determined that if Neville could get on the horse, than he would too. As he got closer Prince pawed the ground and gave a squeal. Not to be deterred Ron got closer and made a grab for his reins. Prince let out another blood curdling scream and lunged for Ron, who somehow leapt out of the way. Ron had managed to grab Prince's reins in the confusion and determinedly hung on. Prince would have none of him and struck out, catching Ron's arm with his hoof, breaking it.

Hermione could hear the crunch of his arm from where she sat, cringing she wondered what he would do. Ron let go of the reins and stumbled backwards, clutching his now useless arm. Prince made a final lunge and Ron was forced back again, resulting in him falling out of the painted box, being disqualified. Madame Pomfery hurried forward tutting about dangerous animals.

"Victor Krum." McGonagall called. "You're next, wand please."

He walked up to her and handed her his wand. He looked at Prince who stood in the starting position that Ginny had returned him to. He was fairly confident that he could achieve what the others had not. He was from an affluent Pureblood family after all and he would be the one to ride the unrideable stallion. He was Victor Krum international Quiddutch Star and Seeker extraordinaire. (It did not seem to dawn on him that he had watched Hermione ride Prince, and Ginny could pet and lead him about as if he were a puppy on a string.)

Prince looked at him appraisingly from his box as he swaggered towards him. When Victor set foot into the box, Prince's ears disappeared into his skull again and he turned to face him. Victor tread towards him very carefully, obviously thinking that if he made no sudden movements he would be safe. Prince let out a warning bellow as he got closer, but Victor was not moved. With an indignant snort he charged Victor and stopped short of his feet, throwing his head and sending Victor to the ground. In self preservation mode, Victor tried to make himself as small as possible. Prince was unimpressed. He reached down and took the back of his robes, at about his waist band, in his teeth and pulled up.

Hermione sat on Lucy and had a moment between a snicker and a cringe, that had to be the most uncomfortable and impressive wedgie in the history of all wedgies. There was a collective sympathy moan and sharp intake of breath from the crowd. Victor gave a strangled yelp and tried to crawl away. Prince had other ideas and began to push/drag/pull Victor to the nearest edge of the box. Once Prince had 'escorted' Victor over the line denoting the box, he tossed his head and released him. Victor was left to lie on the ground in a curled up moaning pile. So much for fame and fortune. Prince returned himself to where he had begun with a flick of his tail.

"Oliver Wood," McGonagall said, holding out her hand.

Wood stepped forward and laid his wand in her outstretched hand. He looked determinedly at Prince who looked back with his ears pinned. Always one to think 'outside the box' and of strategy Wood decided upon a different plan of attack. Walking along the line that denoted the box, he watched Prince eye him. Once he felt he was approximately lined up with his backside, Wood backed up about three feet. Without warning he broke into a run and made a flying leap. He leapfrogged onto Prince's back and landed in the saddle.

Prince was without question startled. With a blood curdling shriek he reared and then came down bucking with enough fervor that would make any rodeo cowboy (or girl) take pause to question their abilities in the saddle. Twisting mid buck, Prince came beside the rope barrier and dumped Wood on to the ground outside the box with a thud and small dust cloud. Wood had done well, riding out the rearing, though he overcompensated and was whipped back when he began to buck, causing his seat to be lost. When Prince twisted mid buck and went to the edge of the box, there was no way for him to regain any balance and was dropped like a bad habit to the ground. (The scores are in, judges please state the score- ooh, no score/no ride, didn't stay on for the full eight seconds, too bad.)

With a final buck and a shake Prince trotted around his little three by six box with a snort, as if he was challenging anyone else. Ginny bravely entered into the box with him. He came to her with a nicker and butted around at her pockets, asking for a treat. She merely chuckled and pushed him away, and led him back to his starting position.

"Goyle."

He handed McGonagall his wand and looked determinedly at Prince. Prince eyed him suspiciously as if he thought Goyle would try the same trick Wood used. Prince scented the air as Goyle approached the box. When he went into the box, Prince did not immediately attack, but let him grab the mounting block. Even with a squeal and striking out at him with his teeth, he allowed Goyle to put the mounting block next to him. Hermione held a worried breath. Feeling more confident Goyle made to get onto Prince. But just as he was grabbing for his reins Prince sidestepped his front end, turning his front a quarter turn. Because Goyle had been leaning on him, Goyle fell flat on his face from the mounting block. Grumbling slightly he picked himself up, ducked beneath Prince's teeth and moved the mounting block beside him again. Once again he leaned against Prince as he reached for the reins and fell flat on his face as Prince took a considerable sidestep with his entire body. Not being the brightest bulb in the box he tried the process again. One final time he fell flat on his face, as was expected.

"You are disqualified." McGonagall said looking down at him a few feet away from her.

"What?" He asked rather stupidly. McGonagall pointed at his feet. The mounting block had been on the edge of the box denoting the starting area. Prince had sidestepped his way out of the box and towards the crowd, who, out of fear for life and limb had drawn back. Goyle now laid a body's length out of the starting box, disqualifying him.

"Crabbe, you are up next." McGonagall said as Ginny lead Prince back to the box and returned the mounting block to its starting position.

He handed over his wand and looked at Prince with a frown. Prince scented the air and pinned his ears as he come into his box. Reacting a similar way as to Goyle, Prince let Crabbe come close to him without doing any real bodily harm. As Crabbe got on the mounting block Prince once again tried to sidestep, but as he was expecting it Crabbe made a lunge and managed to secure him onto the saddle. "Ha, ha horsey, you can't get rid of Me." He taunted.

Prince shook himself as if he was trying to rid himself of an insect, but to no avail, Crabbe stuck. Prince turned and tried to take a nip out of his lower leg, and was rewarded with a yip. After a moment of what seemed like thought, Prince strode forward four steps, just so that he was entirely out of the box.

Hermione held her breath and feared that Prince would bring him towards her. When he took the four steps, she blanched considerably, but color and a smile was returned to her face when she saw what happened next. Prince then went down on his front knees and then flopped himself over on his side, and unceremoniously dumped Crabbe out of the saddle and somersaulted him off to the side with a groan. Then he hauled himself back onto his feet, gave a good shake and yawned as if this was something he did every day. Thus ended Crabbe's bid for Hermione's hand.

Ginny hurried forward to bring Prince back into the box and set him back up for the next unfortunate soul, I mean suitor.

"Marcus Flint."

He handed over his wand. He grinned maliciously at Prince who pinned his ears even before he got to the edge of the box. Flint had dealt with horses before and those who did not bend to his will he had beat into submission. He would do the same to this horse if need be. As soon as he strode into the box Prince swung his back end towards him. Flint seemingly thought nothing of it and continued to get closer. Once he was within striking distance Prince did not wait for him to get any closer, he quite unceremoniously kicked out, planting both hind hooves into his chest. Flint flew a good five feet, landing well outside the box and was left gasping for air. Madame Pomfrey was at his side almost immediately assessing the damages. Prince gave an indignant snort and returned himself to his original position.

"Draco." McGonagall called.

He gave her his wand and swaggered towards Prince. He was certain that he would be able to ride this horse. The likes of Neville and Crabbe had done so. He was so much better than either one of them. (Well he's a legend in his own mind anyway.) Prince flattened his ears again as Draco entered the box and gave a bellow. Draco, not seeming to have learned before that such a bellow occurred just before Prince charged, did not get out of the way in time as Prince did just that. Draco was thrown to the ground from the force of fifteen hundred pounds of angry horse vaulting at him. Prince then began to strike out and attempt to flatten him where he lay. Luckily for Draco his reflexes were not too altered from contacting with the hard ground. He was able to roll out of the way of Prince's hooves coming into contact with his chest or skull. Draco had managed to roll out of the box, but Prince seemed to care little and appeared intent on breaking his head like a melon.

"Easy boy." Hermione heard a warm resonating baritone voice say from the sidelines. "Be at peace. Easy now." There was no mistaking who the voice belonged to. Hermione had heard its smooth tone the whole last summer. Severus Snape stood apart from the crowd, his arms resting at his sides, his intense gaze trained upon Prince.

Prince stopped trying to bust Draco's head and he turned his head in Severus' direction, his ears perked and alert. Draco silently crawled away into the crowd while his attention was diverted. Prince began to walk towards Severus, his tail down and nose lowered. The crowd, which stood with a healthy fear of this powerful animal, parted like the Red Sea. Prince made his way to Severus and nickered softly, reaching his nose out to touch his hand. Severus raised his hand and scratched behind his ear. "Good boy." He said warmly. "Good boy."

He took Prince's reins and led him back towards the box. The silence around them was deafening, even the wind seemed to be holding its breath. More than one jaw hung slack at the spectacle of Prince accepting and submitting quite of his own free will to Severus. Hermione was in shock, but it did not stop her heart from swelling or a smile breaking out on her face. Severus stopped by McGonagall.

"Here Minerva, I believe you are to hold this for me." He held out his wand to her grip first. She merely nodded, unable to speak, and took his wand. Severus led the docile Prince back into the box that every other male had been driven from with a vengeance.

"Miss Weasley." He called when he got into the box. "Come here." He beckoned her forward. She was unsure of what else to do and so she came into the box with him. Severus had busied himself in the time it took her to get in the box, with unsaddling Prince. He handed Ginny the saddle when she got to his side. "That will be all." He told her with a dismissive flick of his hand. Amazed she could do nothing but walk out of the box again, carrying the saddle.

Severus stood beside Prince for a moment and patted his side. "Good boy." He assured him. Then with a handful of mane and a powerful jump Severus swung himself up onto Prince's back. Prince's attitude went from submissive underling to proud mount, head popping up, neck arched regally, ears perked and tail arched out. It was quite clear that he was more than willing and happy to be ridden by Severus. With a soft click and a gentle nudge with his heels Severus asked Prince to step off in Hermione's direction. Prince picked up a long, fluid trot that covered the distance between the two ends of the alleyway with astonishing speed.

Severus could not miss the broad smile of happiness that was spread across Hermione's face as he traveled towards her. He allowed his heart to swell. Turning Prince around to stand beside Lucy he dismounted. Crossing over to Lucy's left side he knelt down on one knee and cast his gaze to the ground in front of his foot, his arms spread out to the sides.

"I, Severus Snape, ask you, Hermione Jane Granger, if you would you accept my humble petition for your hand in marriage?" He asked in the same warm baritone he used with the horses.

Overcome with emotion it took her a moment to answer, a tremendously painful moment for Severus, still fearing to be rejected even though she had smiled at him. But he could not have stayed away, he had to know. He heard her dismount beside him and he saw as her boots came into his view. He felt as her soft hand reached down and lifted his chin so that his gaze had nowhere but her face to settle. She was smiling and he could see tears threatening her vision. "Severus," she told him. "I would be honored to become your wife."

Rising off his knee he put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned down and placed a gentle soft, but nonetheless searing kiss upon her forehead. "So be it." He said stepping back with great restraint. "I will have a petition for you to sign by ten tomorrow morning. Come to my office then and we shall make it official." He gave a slight bow. He walked first back towards Minerva to get his wand. Then he strode off in the direction of the castle, his black robes billowing around him.

**A/N: Wahoo!!! Severus petitioned, Hermione accepted, is there anything more wonderful in the world? so, was the test worth waiting for? I think it was, but then again I wrote it, so I suppose I do have a bit of favoritism for it. **

**See, for all of you who were worried that they wouldn't get together, (which I must agree with ocarxena, thinking such a thought is very strange), I didn't let you down. besides what good is it to call it a romance if their isn't any. Trust me, if I get up enough writer's courage there will be quite a harvest from my wonderful lemon tree that I planted way, way at the beginning of my fic when I pressed 'romance' as one of my categories. Whatever happens I can assure you that there will be at least some lemons coming, the strength of them though will depend upon the strength of my courage.**

**Anyway, the next chapter is from Severus' point of view, and follows him from the time that Hermione leaves his chambers after he has explored her memories until he proposes. Trust me, a lot can happen over night to change how he became the significantly more humble man, asking for Hermione's hand. **

**Hoped you all liked the chapter, but I won't know if you did or not unless you review! So please, please, please review. I really do love to see all the hits, but only a few of you are reviewing. Thanks again to all my loyal reviewers, you all are my lifeline, encouraging my writing. I do accept anonymous reviews, though I do prefer the signed ones, that way I can address questions or just plain thank you all personally. I won't even complain if someone tells me that they don't like my fic, all I ask is that you do so with some tact. Not that anyone had done it, but… anyway, constructive criticism is always welcome so that I may become a better writer in the future. **

**As always a wonderful big thanks to my wonderful beta skydancinghobbit, I don't know where I would be in my story without your suggestions and the almighty comma stick. Actually, I would be commaless and without a few of my ideas for zesty little scenes that pop up later on. can't thank you enough. **

**Wow, I think I have written a whole novel in authors notes now. Haven't done that in a while. Ok, thanks for reading all the way to the end, Dragons Quill **


	40. Meddling Beyond the Grave

**A/N: YEA! I am so glad you all liked the test of 'charm'-ing, I know it was quite fun to write. That was the most reviews for a chapter yet, and it wasn't even up for more than 24 hours! As for the little 'fight' that seemed to have broken out between a couple of anonymous reviewers, or perhaps a single reviewer twice, who really knows, all I have to say is 'play nice now children' (snicker). I must admit to being rather amused, shocked and honored to have instilled such an impassioned response from my reviewers, I honestly never expected it. **

**Well this chapter deals with Severus from the time Hermione leaves him in his chambers until the time that he asks Hermione to marry him. Enjoy. **

_Meddling Beyond the Grave _(40)

Severus sat in stunned silence after Hermione left his chambers. He could feel where her soft lips had branded his soul, but unlike the Dark Mark, this made his heart warm, while the Dark Mark had sought to crush it. She had told and showed him that she desired him, and he had admitted, though haltingly and in different words, that he deeply desired her as well.

Carefully sorting through the shattered bits and pieces of his reality he tried to gain perspective. His thoughts came in a broken stream. Hermione knew a great deal of the worst of his past… she had known for a long time… curse Dumbledore for saving those memories… those memories had saved his hide from jail… bless Dumbledore… stupid, annoying, wonderful old meddler, grr. Hermione had accepted his past… had accepted him… desired him… believed him to be a suitable match… did not care about his past and would keep his confidence… she was everything he ever wanted… and perhaps not so far out of reach as he thought.

His broken thoughts were broken in upon, as he heard Fawkes humming from his perch. Turning his eyes from the flames dancing in the hearth he looked at Fawkes. He looked most pleased and just a tad smug.

"You knew." He accused him.

"_Knew what?_" Fawkes asked innocently.

"You knew that she knew." Severus accused him again. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought that the Phoenix were suppose to help their Keepers, not keep such important things from them."

"_It was not information that was mine to tell. I knew that she would tell you when she thought you were ready, or in this case, when it was something she could not avoid. She kept the information from you with your best interest in mind._" Fawkes told him with what appeared to be a shrug of his wings.

"My best interest?" He asked. "I would think knowing who all knows that much about me is important."

"_That again is not my knowledge to share. You will have to ask her for the particulars. But I will give you a summary. She believed that if you did not know that you would be less inclined to freak out or you would believe her kindness was to blackmail you with something from your past. Neither or true. _

_In all truthfulness I believe that the fact she kept your confidence so long, and did not come to resent or hate you, should tell you a great deal about her person."_ Fawkes then stretched his wings out to their full extent and then settled more comfortably on his perch. "_Well, have a good night; you will have a big day tomorrow._"

He tucked his head under his wing and Severus knew there was no way to get anything more out of the bird. If his time interrogating Fawkes had taught him anything, it was that once he thought he had said enough he would stop and find some other urgent employment with which to fill his time, thus excusing him from talking. The problem was that he tended to tell you just enough to get your interest perked and questions forming in your head, but just as you were getting to the heart of the issue, he'd stop. The bird was far too similar in that regard to his former Keeper in that respect than Severus liked.

Thinking of the old man was a bittersweet memory. He had been a trusted companion, teacher, mentor, friend and fatherly figure. Dumbledore had always been kind and caring to Severus, helping him sort through and conquer his feelings after his Death Eater meetings. Even though Dumbledore was seemingly up to some scheme or another that usually resulted in some spectacular mess, good and bad, he had always been a solid constant that Severus had been able to count on once he became a spy.

The hardest thing he ever had to do was to kill him. He had not wanted to do such a terrible thing. It had been early on in their friendship that Dumbledore had made him swear loyalty to himself by extracting an Unbreakable Vow. That in itself was not so surprising to Severus, many powerful wizards had their friends and confidants enter into such a vow. What had surprised Severus was the nature of the vow. Unlike many vows that insured the safety of the one that demanded such a promise, Dumbledore had made Severus promise to kill him when he asked to be killed. He had taken the oath, though he had done so begrudgingly. To not take the oath would say that he was not loyal to Dumbledore, which was not the case, but to take the oath would be promising that he would have to kill his only true friend. It was a catch twenty two if he ever saw one.

Still sitting on the couch he let his mind wander back to Hermione. She was beautiful, intelligent and spirited. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and hold her forever. But he had always thought that she would think of him as nothing more than the greasy git of a teacher. Looking into her memories of him he found that he had seen a different picture of himself than he thought he would see. Though she had thought him a mean an unyielding teacher she had come to respect him and even regard him as a person to impress and attempt to beat. She had seen in the pensieves, some of the worst moments of his adult life, both that he had to deal with and that he had done. Despite this she had come to respect, admire, trust and desire him.

As he was contemplating how such a thing could happen he heard vaguely Fawkes begin to sing a new lullaby from across the room. Before he knew what happened his eye lids were heavy and his chin fell to his chest.

Opening his eyes he looked around. He did not recognize where he was, actually there wasn't much around to recognize. He was standing on what appeared to be a flat polished stone floor that looked like grey granite. Surrounding him was a white mist that made his billowing black robes seemed even blacker. Unsure of what was going on he turned a full revolution, or what he thought was, things were very hard to determine with no landmarks. He saw nothing around him, just swirling white mist. Drawing out his wand he looked intently at the fog and called out.

"Hello? Anyone there? Where am I?"

As he spoke, he saw in front of him an archway in the mist form, the mist swirled around the archway but inside the arch was dark. Not knowing what else to do he lit the end of his wand and strode carefully into the archway to see where it lead. After a few steps into the archway he began to hear a haunting strain, one that he had not heard before, but recognized the source nonetheless. Somewhere ahead of him in the darkness was Fawkes. After what seemed like miles he suddenly came to a door that looked suspiciously like the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Fawkes' song could still be heard. Reaching out to knock on the door he found that it swung out of its own fruition.

Stepping through the door way he looked around and found himself in the well lit Headmaster's office. Fawkes sat on his stand by the base of the stairs; he stopped singing the same time the door swung shut behind him. He cooed a welcome. Looking around the room he saw that in the chair behind the large mahogany desk sat Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked younger than he had in years and he smiled comfortingly at Severus.

"Welcome, welcome." He smiled getting up from behind his desk. "Glad you could make it." He came around his desk and walked towards Severus.

Severus held his wand out towards him. He was not quite sure what was going on, but he knew very well that Dumbledore was dead. This had to be some trick. "Don't come any closer." He told Dumbledore. "Albus is dead, who are you."

"Ah, yes you're right my boy, I am dead, but I am Albus Dumbledore." He said with a familiar twinkle in his eye. "Although at this juncture I am not quite as dead as I usually am."

"What?"

"I have always marveled at the power of the Phoenix birds." Dumbledore said crossing over to Fawkes who allowed him to pet his head. "They are marvelous creatures to be sure. They have many powers and talents that they can employ. It seems that you have a great desire to talk to me, and so, here I am. As Fawkes' former companion, he had the power to bring my memory and essence back to this place of neither life nor death so that we may converse for a short while. What is it that is weighing so heavily on your heart that caused Fawkes to bring you and me here?"

"But you've been dead for almost four years now. I have wanted to talk to you before, but never has this happened. How am I to know that this isn't a trick?"

Dumbledore gave a slight smile. "Always cautious, that is what kept you alive as a spy. But since you demand proof then I shall give it to you. When you were a small child you would dream repeatedly of becoming a bird and flying away." Dumbledore said. "Then when you became and animagi you became a raven."

"It is good to see you." Severus said lowering his wand and putting it away. "It has been a long time." He agreed to be hugged by Dumbledore. "I have missed you."

"Well, this cannot be for too long, but a short time is always better than none at all." Dumbledore said. "Now come, tell me what it is that has you so upset that Fawkes has called me away from things to speak with you?" Dumbledore lead him to the chairs beside the fireplace with a fire in the hearth. "Just remember, we have a limited amount of time here."

"Nearly four weeks ago the Ministry passed a Marriage Law." Severus began. "They are forcing Pureblood wizards to marry half blood and muggleborn witches and vice versa. There can be no muggleborn to muggleborn or pure to Pureblood marriage contracts signed after the law was enacted. If you are not in a contract by the end of the four weeks the Ministry will then begin to draw names and pair up matches in a random manner." Severus told him. Dumbledore sat and listened, a bit of a worried wrinkle creasing his forehead.

"As I am a Pureblood it fell to me to petition the hand of a muggleborn witch. I made the decision that I would not petition for anyone's hand. My past is far too black to ask anyone to become my wife. I could not impose myself upon any woman; much less could I do so to the woman I love."

"Who is this woman you love?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle returning madly to his eyes.

"Miss Granger." Severus said begrudgingly. "I have found her to be attractive for a long time, not only physically, but she is intelligent. I could never ask her to be bound to a man such as myself."

"What is Miss Granger doing now?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

"Sleeping probably by now." Severus said with a shrug. "She chooses who of those that have petitioned her that she will marry tomorrow."

"I mean with her life." Dumbledore twinkled.

"She has taken Minerva's positions at the school." Severus told him. "She also owns a pair of horses. She asked me to help break them last year."

"Did you do it?"

"Yes."

"Anything interesting about the horses?"

"Prince, the stallion hates men with a vengeance, all men except me for some reason."

"That is interesting." Dumbledore twinkled again. "Now why is it that you can't petition for her hand? You say that you love her, why don't you just ask her?"

"I can't, my past is to dark." Severus said.

"Well, I am sure that is not the whole reason why you are here. Fawkes made a comment about you coming across some more information recently."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Information concerning just how she might feel about you."

"Oh, that." Severus grumbled like a kid caught in the cookie jar. "It would seem that she finds me, and has for some time, found me to be attractive. And she believes that I very well in fact might make a good partner for her." He admitted begrudgingly. "But I can't let her throw her life away on a man like me."

"Who are her other suitors?"

"What do that have to do with it?"

"Who are the other men vying for her hand?"

"Oliver Wood, Marcus Flint, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Victor Krum." Severus said.

"Now tell me truthfully Severus." Dumbledore said. "Of any of those that you have told me, is there any that offer her what you can offer?"

"They can all offer her a clean past and handsome children. I can offer neither."

"Come now Severus, don't sell yourself so short. She is an intelligent young woman who has an insatiable curiosity about everything. She is a quick learner and extremely powerful; one of the most powerful witches alive if she had developed even close to what potential I saw. Most of the boys that you have listed are not as powerful as she is, and are not as driven as she is to find something out.

You possess your own charms, though you seem loath to admit it. You are extremely intelligent and also have an incurable curiosity. You were the top of your class as well and always working on something new. You are also exceptionally powerful. You are perhaps the most powerful wizard living now that both Voldemort and I are dead.

When I was preparing your defense and deciding who was to follow in my footsteps I made sure that you two would come into contact on a regular basis. Even when she was still in her sixth year I recognized the potential for a strong bond between you two. Such an allegiance of power would make the two of you nearly unstoppable. Any resulting children from such a pairing have a potential to be astonishingly powerful.

I believe that you must let things from your past go and go to her. From what Fawkes has told me, she had asked you to come for her; that she wants you and not another. As you are here for my advice it seems, then I would suggest that you take her up on that offer, to take her as your wife and be happy for once in your life. The woman you desire desires you back, what more do you want in life?"

"She has a test that I would have to pass." Severus grumbled, trying to throw up every reason why he could not possibly win her hand.

"What is it?"

"I have heard it is a test of charm. She claimed that there is only one man who can pass the test and that the one who could, had already. She said that that person had passed the test almost a year ago. I don't have a clue what it means so I can't possibly accomplish such a test. Besides she gets married in three days. That is far too small of a time frame to get a mystery worked out."

"It seems obvious that she thought you should know. If I were to take a guess, it is that you already know the answer to what her test is going to be. What were you doing a year ago around this time?"

"I was helping Hermione train Prince and Lucy."

"And was there anything interesting about the horses? How they reacted to other people around you perhaps."

"Only that Prince tried to attack Hagrid, acted as if he were evil or something." Severus shrugged, not putting two and two together. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything my boy, everything."

"I don't understand, stop talking in riddles Albus!" Severus sounded very much like a very big five year old who hadn't gotten what he wanted for Christmas.

"I know that you will understand once you have time to think about it, I don't need to explain much else." Dumbledore smiled. "As for our time though, it grows short. So let me leave you with this. You lost your first chance at happiness when you did not tell Lily how you felt about her, but your loss was our world's gain, as her union with James created Harry. Now you stand at a similar path, but the players are different. The woman that could fulfill what you have dreamed of in a woman is before you. But unlike before where uncertainty stopped you, you now know that she desires you.

The only thing standing in your way from happiness is your arrogance to think you can save this woman or any other from your past. She knows your past and with this law you will be forced to marry someone. Would it not be better to be married to a woman that not only knows your past and loves you even though she knows what you have done? Rather than be married to one who does not know, and may or may not ever love you whether she learns of the particulars of your past or not?" Dumbledore gave him an uncharacteristically hard look over his half moon spectacles.

"You hold all the power to make yourself, and her, happy or miserable for the rest of your days. It is your choice. Will you choose to accept her love or deny her a chance to show you that you are not as horrible as you fancy yourself?"

From his stand Fawkes began to sing a haunting melody again, another lullaby that Severus had never heard. He felt his eye lids feel heavy. "But what about the test?" He asked groggily. "I don't know what it is."

"Think about what I have asked and what she has told you. You have all the information you need to figure out the test and pass it. You just have to think." He heard Dumbledore's voice say as his eyes closed and his head began to lull to his chest again. Dumbledore's voice sounded as if it were coming through a tunnel and getting farther and farther away. Fawkes' song was still as strong as ever.

Severus' eyes snapped open and his head shot off his chest as Fawkes' song stopped, waking with a start. Looking around he saw that he sat propped up against the arm of the couch in his chambers. The fire had burned down to embers and Fawkes was perched asleep on his stand beside the hearth. Rising himself off the couch, stretching away the stiffness he looked around. Looking at the clock on the mantle he saw it read 12:30. 12:30?! He could have sworn it was later than that when he had brought Hermione to his chambers. Exactly how long had he been asleep or whatever/wherever he had been talking to Dumbledore? Striding over to one of the small windows in his chambers he pulled back the curtains and was accosted with harsh sunlight. Well that answered his question.

Pacing back and forth beside the window he tried to think clearly. She had said that today was when she would pick her groom and that she wanted him to take some test and pass it. She had also said that only one man could pass the test, and had alluded to the fact that it was him. The runner up was Neville. What could he do that Neville could not? Well that was obvious, anyone could brew better than Neville, so that couldn't be it. Well that was getting nowhere fast, what was her next clue. Ah yes, he had already passed the test a year ago. Well that was not helpful either. A year ago he had been roped into helping her with her horses. Well perhaps not roped, he had accepted the job willingly, but that was beside the point. There was also what the test was called, a test of charm? What did that mean? He was not a charming man by anyone's standards, least of all his own. How could he pass such at test?

Taking stock of the only answers he could, he came up with these answers. He could do whatever it was better than Neville, something about horses and a test of charm. Stopping suddenly in his tracks he came to a realization. He remembered that Prince was not the whole name of her stallion, it was Prince Charming. It wasn't a test _of_ charm, but a test _by_ Charming. With that things began to fall into place. Prince hated men, all men except him. Prince had submitted to him the year before and because Prince was against every other man, which meant that doing something with Prince was what he could do better than Neville.

"Dobby!" Severus called with a snap of his fingers. "I need you NOW!"

Dobby appeared with a pop, cowering and bowing in front of Severus. "Yes Master Snape sir. What is it that you want of Dobby sir?"

"Where is Hermione holding her test for her suitors? And when does it take place?" Severus demanded from him.

"There is something going on down on the lawns." Dobby said. "I heard some of the other house elves say that it was some type of test. It is to begin at one."

"Thank you Dobby, that will be all." Severus said, looking at the clock. It was 1:10. He did not know how long the test was going to last. If he wanted to rescue her from a life of Longbottom than he decided he had better act quickly.

He strode over to the wall of bookshelves and pushed down on the appropriate book. The bookcase swung silently open and he swept into the dark tunnel. When he came to the other end of the tunnel he was able to peer out from between the pine needles to see that there was no one in his little corps of trees. Stepping out he exited the trees and headed towards the stables. He saw that in the same area they had been training that a large crowd had gathered. He walked to the edge of the crowd and watched as Goyle fell flat on his face for the third and final time, disqualifying him.

"What is going on?" He asked Lupin quietly as he stood next to him.

"Ah Severus, I did not know you were coming." Lupin said.

"Neither did I." Severus commented under his breath. "Is this the test you told me about last night?"

"Evidently." Lupin nodded. "The man who can ride Prince from the box at this end to Hermione will be her husband. There can be no magic and everyone that tries must give Minerva their wand before they start.

Neville was the first one to try. He sort of got on and then got dumped about half way to Hermione. Ron got his arm busted and Victor, well he will be walking funny for a while once the wedgie gets removed. Prince tried to pick him up by the back of his pants with his teeth. It was interesting." He cringed with a light chuckle.

"Oliver tried to jump on him from outside the box and then got thrown quickly. You saw what happened to Goyle. There are only a couple more suitors I believe. Then we will see who she picks. It appears that by her own rules that she will be married to Neville. He went the farthest down the alleyway." Lupin told him. "He might not be the brightest of the group, but he is also is far from the dumbest. At least he will treat her right and do what he can to protect her if a stray Death Eater tries to attack her."

Severus gave a grunt. He knew that there were a few Death Eaters still on the loose, and they were still a force to be reckoned with. If Neville was as proficient with his wand as he was at making Potions he would never have a chance against more than one Death Eater if they chose to attack him. The fact that he had survived the War was testament that he could at least take care of himself. Giving an inner sigh he knew that he could not let Hermione be stuck with Neville. It would be a cruel thing to do. He may try to treat her right that much he had to admit, but he could never satisfy her desire for learning new things in any other field than Herbology. With a sigh he knew he would have to find some way to take the test and prove that he really did want her. He decided he would wait until the end to try.

Watching as Crabbe was plopped on the ground he could not help but give a smirk at Prince's antics. He did not quite understand why he wasn't attacking every male the same way, but he was disposing of them all in a timely fashion. It almost seemed as if he were having fun doing such things to the other males. He watched aghast with everyone else as Marcus went flying almost immediately. Thinking back to the time when he was in school he remembered him. He was one of the House bullies, commanding quite a presence in the common room when he and his gang, the Quiddutch team came through. He had run a good team and did very few things that could be traced to him, so Severus had been inclined to look the other way for most things.

He watched carefully as Draco entered the box with Prince. He could see that there was going to be trouble before he even got in the box. Prince seemed to believe that Draco was exceptionally bad news, and Severus had to agree. He watched as Prince chased him out of the box, trying to break open his head or chest, but unlike the others, when he was out of the box Prince did not stop trying to kill him. As much as he had grown to despise his godson he decided that he did not deserve to die just yet, let him live with the humiliation of being beaten by a 'mere' horse. He took a few steps away from Lupin so that he stood alone. Deciding that the time was now, he spoke out.

"Easy boy. Be at peace. Easy now." He called out in the warm baritone that he had always used with the horses. He had always spoke in such a manner with any horse. They had always been his friends, his confidants and his escape when he was a boy. The warm comfortable regard he held horses in came out in his voice.

Prince's ears suddenly flicked forward, listening and trained on him. He saw as Prince stopped in his tracks and turned in his direction. He then let his tail drop and dropped his nose, submitting to him even from a few hundred feet way. Prince walked through the crowd to him and with a soft nicker of welcome and acceptance, reaching out to touch his hand. "Good boy. Good boy." He soothed him giving him a good scratch behind his left ear. Prince's eyes closed in appreciation. Then he grabbed his reins and led him back to the box. Giving Minerva his wand, he signified that he had now officially entered into the contest for Hermione's hand.

When he got in the box he decided that he would make it so that there were no questions to the legitimacy of his ride. Calling Ginny forward he handed her the saddle and blanket then sending her away. With a final pat and "good boy" he swung himself up onto Prince. He gave the now proud mount a nudge in his ribs and he stepped off into a flowing trot that carried him faster than he had ever gone to Hermione's side. He could see her smiling and it made his heart swell and hope that she would accept him, even at this late hour and what he had said the night before to try to drive her away. He dismounted and crossed over to Lucy's left side he knelt down on one knee and cast his gaze to the ground in front of his foot, his arms spread out to the sides.

"I, Severus Snape, ask you, Hermione Jane Granger, if you would you accept my humble petition for your hand in marriage?" He asked in the same warm baritone he used with the horses.

It took her a moment to answer, and it was a tremendously painful moment for him. He still fearer that she might still reject his offer even though she had smiled at him. But he could not have stayed away. He could not let her go through with a marriage to Neville, not when he loved her and knew that she felt the same way towards him. He heard her dismount beside him and he saw as her boots came into his view. He felt as her soft hand reached down and lifted his chin so that his gaze had nowhere but her face to settle. She was smiling and he could see tears threatening her vision. "Severus," she told him. "I would be honored to become your wife."

Rising off his knee he put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned down and placed a gentle soft, but nonetheless searing kiss upon her forehead. He almost jumped up and snogged her senseless, but as he was unpracticed in kissing he kept his single kiss to her forehead. He embodied that kiss with every emotion that was cruising through his body at the time. "So be it." He said stepping back with great restraint. He wanted to sweep her off her feet where she stood and carry her away, but he couldn't. There were still things that had to be done before he could do that. "I will have a petition for you to sign by ten tomorrow morning. Come to my office then and we shall make it official." He gave a slight bow, it was a remnant of the old manners his father had beat into him, both physically and mentally. He walked first back towards Minerva to get his wand. Then he strode off in the direction of the castle, his black robes billowing around him, he had a lot of work to do before ten the next day.

**A/N: humm, so we have found out another of Fawkes' 'abilities', and Dumbledore could tell Severus off. He is dead, what kind of backlash does he have to worry about? Besides, he only had a short time and big issues to overcome with Severus. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**The next chapter was one of my most personally awaited chapters, I couldn't wait to write it, (have had this chapter's name and a vague content idea since the beginning) but I had to wait until I had written the test so that they both matched. The next chapter is from the one perspective that has yet to be addressed. PRINCE'S! yeah! I can say I had far too much fun with that chapter, even though it wasn't easy to write strictly form a 'horsey' point of view. **

**Thanks so much for the reviews you guys (and gals) have left so far, they are really great. please continue to review, I love to hear what you think and they certainly help the creative juices to keep flowing. Thanks as always to skydancinghobbit for keeping me in line and the characters who they are. Thanks to everyone, until the next chapter- Dragons Quill :)**


	41. The World According to Prince

**A/N: yeah, more reviews, glad you all liked the last chapter. this is the chapter from Prince's view, though this explanation seems as bit redundant, the title says it all. well on with the story, I will address some important things at the bottom. Enjoy.**

_The World According to Prince _(41)

Prince was not your average horse. His pedigree boasted many an Eventing and Dressage champion. He was breed for grace and power, many of his brothers and sisters already proving themselves to be champions as well. Now that he was owned by Hermione Granger he went from being a potentially exceptional horse to being a horse with no equal.

His early recollections were misty. He knew that his mother was dead and that he could not have gone on. He had lost the will to live without his mother's soft nicker and warm milk. He refused to eat anything that they tried to feed him. It just wasn't what he was used to. After what seemed like forever Hermione Granger came into the stall with him and would not let him give up. That first night she had fed him something that was not the same as what he was used to, but it was something sweeter. He quickly decided that he wanted more. Over the next week the food went back to what they had tried to feed him before, but he had decided that he would eat it now that she would sleep in the stall with him. A short time after she had begun to sleep in the stall, there came another change in his diet. This time his bottle was once again sweet, but there was also an aroma and taste that he had not encountered before, something like a breath of fresh air.

Over the next several months on the new diet he became aware of things that had escaped his notice before. He could now sense and sometimes smell the power around people. He first began to take notice of this when he was lead out to the paddocks by someone other than Hermione. He also began to learn who different people were and recognize the sounds that others used to identify them by.

Then his world was turned upside down in the matter of an afternoon. He recognized immediately that the woman that Hermione had brought to his stall had the same type of power that Hermione had. He recognized that both women were very powerful, but he thought Hermione might have just a little bit more of whatever this power was, though much of Hermione's laid dormant or unused since he had come to call her his own.

He was then lead out of his nice warm stall into the cold snow and beyond where he had ever gone. Once they were in some trees the new woman took his lead rope and hugged him close. Unsure of what this was going on he had barely a second to contemplate when he was suddenly somewhere else. The sudden change in scenery was shocking and without question the scariest thing that had ever happened to him. He was quite keen upon leaving the presence of this woman in case she decided she was going to do something like that again with him. Then quite suddenly Hermione was beside him and things were ok again.

He was then lead to another warm stall and provided with water and hay. His next big shock came only that night when something small and with a squeaky voice came past his stall. To him it looked like some walking, bug-eyed turnip with big ears. Scenting he was able to tell that whatever this creature was indeed male and also held a power about his strange looking person. The power was not the same that Hermione had and because he did not readily recognize the power or the creature that bore it he decided that it would not be something that would be tolerated.

As he was getting older he began to recognize anything else that was male as a rival. He knew very well that if he was going to hold onto Hermione that he would have to fight off other suitors for her attention. This meant that this little male whatever, had to be disposed of. It didn't look very big, how much of a bother could it be to get rid of? He soon found out how very wrong that assumption had been, as there were more of the bug-eyed turnips around than he could count (not that he could count very high).

He soon found out that the bug eyed turnips were not all that bad and that they were not his competition. They were very powerful, but their type of power was used only at the bidding of the humans, they were not trying to gain a herd leader status, no matter how powerful they were. They were not going to try to usurp his position as herd leader and protector of Hermione. It was the other men that would accompany Hermione to the stables that presented the immediate problem. Though the knowledge that the bug eyed turnips were not after his position did not stop him from occasionally trying to do away with one of the male bug-eyed turnips when he was feeling bored. He would however listen and follow around the one female bug eyed turnip that would share the responsibility of feeding him with Hermione. He soon began to recognize that this bug eyed turnip was called Winky.

For the most part Hermione would come and see him almost every day. That was until the weather began to get chilly again. He was then relegated to seeing the bug eye turnips almost exclusively with Hermione coming infrequently. He was not quite sure why this was but he was content enough as he now had a new friend. There was a young filly that had come to the stables a few months after he had. She had been quite fetching in his eyes and they were turned out together.

He recognized after a time that he was more prone to pay attention to the powers of the people around him. He also recognized that she did not possess the same powers of deduction that he had. But he could have cared little as his companion was otherwise very attractive to him. He then lumped her into the same category as herd mare with Hermione. As such she was to be protected from all other males. He though had given up trying to protect her from the bug eyed turnips and the male humans. He put all his efforts into protecting Hermione from the male humans instead, as she was the one most at risk.

He felt that he did a good job protecting Hermione from all of the lesser male humans that she had brought to his paddock to meet. He had tested the power around each of them and had determined that they were all of a lesser level than Hermione. A couple were also far too keen upon steeling her away and he had done what he could to drive them away. Evidently he had been a success as he had not had to repeat the procedure again. He felt quite secure in his standing as herd stallion as the spring turned into summer and was confident that there would be none that would be able to meet his standards.

Then the day came that he realized he was wrong. It was early in the morning that Hermione came with him; Severus was the sounds that he learned was associated with this particular human. His first intentions had been to drive him away as he had every other male. But when he came within a few feet of him he recognized that his male had more power than he had ever encountered, even greater than Hermione's. His power was strong and pure. He could sense that it had been tainted for a time by another's power, but that was now not much more than a painful memory. The overwhelming sense that he got from his power was the same as the breath of fresh air feeling he had gotten from when he was still on a liquid diet.

Testing the man he took an aggressive step in his direction, but was countered in a manner that spoke to him, not in human ways but in the ways of the horse. The man stood between him and Hermione and told him to back down and out of his role, that this man was now the herd leader and protector of Hermione. After a moment's contemplation he realized that he had found an opponent that could indeed protect Hermione better than he could. Stepping down he relinquished control of Hermione to this man, Severus, her new protector and mate. She had been won fair and square. He had a greater power and would take care of Hermione to the best of his ability.

Over the next few months Prince and his companion Lucy were trained to allow both Hermione and Severus ride upon their backs. Prince was rather unsure about this whole venture, but as it made both Hermione and Severus happy he obliged. He was then able to travel to different places in the wood surrounding the stables and paddocks that he knew well. On one occasion when they were in the woods a large spider jumped out of the brush and nearly scared him out of his wits. There was a flash and burst of power from Hermione as she rode on his back, but he did not leave as Lucy had done. He had understood why Lucy had left, but he could not leave Hermione unprotected as Severus lay on the ground, obviously hurt. He had helped carry him back to some trees on the lawns. He thought it rather strange that the man with so much power lived in a grove of trees, but he was too tired to question such a thing. He was then lead away by Winky and was rewarded with a long awaited meal and rest.

The winter that followed was uneventful and he was more than happy to enjoy the occasional ride in the snow that Hermione took him on, riding with another girl on Lucy. Then the spring rolled around. He had almost always been privy to Hermione's secrets, as she would whisper them in his ear when she would come to groom him. This time however she did not come to groom him, but to cry against his neck. He had nickered softly trying to make her smile, but he could not. He soon learned that she was going to be forced to marry. He was not sure what this was, but he got the impression that she was going to be relegated to a herd stallion for breeding and she was not happy about it. She did not mention Severus in the list of names of the other male humans she was going to be paired with. He soon learned that she was going to have a test for all the male humans that wanted to become a herd stallion.

On the day that the test was to take place he was brought out and put into a small painted box on the ground. Being smart enough to understand most of what Hermione had told him, he learned that he was going to be the gate keeper of sorts. The human males had to get upon his back and be carried to her. He would as such give blessing to that male to have her as part of their herd. He knew that there was only one human male that he had met that he would ever willingly let do such a thing, Severus. She had mentioned something about another if she had to, Neville he believed. He was very disinclined to let any but Severus get to Hermione.

When he was presented with the suitors that he was to assess he was not impressed. Nowhere was Severus to be seen, or actually smelt, and those that were there were weaklings compared to Hermione. There were none there that could compare or supplement the power that she had. He knew that all he had to do was to drive them out of the box and he would then be rid of them.

The first suitor that he was presented with he had encountered before and had heard the woman say that he was Neville. This was the weakling that Hermione was prepared to settle for. He thought it was indeed pathetic, but he did have to admit he was the one of those presented that was the most worthy. He was by no means the most powerful of the group, nor was he the weakest, but he could sense that he would be the only one that would strive to treat Hermione right. The others were not as caring or would attend to Hermione as she would require. He was loath to do such a thing, but he let him onto his back and then took him part way down the alleyway towards Hermione.

He had made sure that the man knew that he was not happy with what he was doing. He had his ears pinned back as far as they would go and he tried to scare him away by threatening him with his teeth. The man had more nerve than before and did not back away when he threatened to bite. Prince was only slightly more at ease with the prospect of relinquishing control. He also knew that it was not right that he threw him, though he did have to admit that it was fun to see how far he flew when he stopped suddenly, about halfway down the alleyway.

The second man that tried to get past him he also knew. This was one of the more persistent than the other males he had had to deal with. This one did not believe that he could be beat by a stallion and was determined to wrench control of herd leadership. He had placed him on a power scale only slightly higher than that of Neville. Prince was not impressed by his best efforts. He became bored with the one's arrogance and decided that he would just be done with it and trample him, if he didn't leave when he charged. To Prince's surprise he was fast enough to get out of the way and managed to grab hold of his lines. Deciding that he would get rid of the threat, he struck out and had a slight satisfaction as he heard the tell tale crack and felt as his arm yielded in an unnatural way. This man was also driven back.

The third male that came into his box was totally consumed by arrogance. Prince could see that he walked like some fancy stallion that thought the world of himself, but was really nothing special. Prince could sense nothing special about this male. He had no special powers that would cause him such an inflated view of himself. Prince actually categorized him also, marginally above Neville in power. Prince decided that this young buck would have to be brought down a notch or two. Charging him he knocked the young male to the ground and then grabbed the back of his clothes just about his waist. He found that this was most effective in getting him off his face where he was trying to hide, realizing his insignificance far too late. Deciding that he did not need such arrogant trash littering his little patch of domain he took out the garbage and dumped him outside his square on the farthest side from Hermione. He returned himself to his original position with a proud flick of his tail. He was really starting to have fun getting rid of such unworthy males.

The third male took a different approach that Prince had not been expecting. This one decided that he would skip coming up to him in the box, but somehow fly onto his back from some unknown place instead. He was without question frightened by this turn of events and did what he felt was natural and bucked for all he was worth, trying to dislodge this male as fast as he could. About halfway through his bucking he was able to remember that it was advantageous to dump him outside the box, which he managed to do. Once he was done so Prince took a challenge and victory lap around his small piece of turf, threatening any others that came into his little world with much pain if they tried such an antic again. He was only soothed by a kind pat by one of Hermione's female friends who told him he wasn't done yet and lead him back to his original position.

As the next suitor approached his box he realized that he was now going to be dealing with those of the lesser powers. He allowed this one to get close to getting on, but wanted to see how dim he was. He stepped off to the side at the last minute as he leaned against him. He found it to be very satisfying to hear the thud as he fell flat on the ground beside him. Then the suitor did the same thing again, which allowed Prince to once again step off to the side and hear a wonderful thud as he hit the ground again. For a third time the male did the exact same thing. Prince was well aware that there were things he did not understand, but even he knew that to repeat the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result was lunacy. To even Prince's amazement and amusement he was able to dump him on the ground a full length out of the box. It had been too easy, and even he had to admit, entertaining.

The next suitor seemed to be just about as bright as the last suitor. Prince could sense that they were both extremely lacking in many of the important areas of power. They were more subservient than go-getters. The second low end power suitor tried to do the same thing that the last one did. Almost with a sigh Prince stepped to the side again. But unlike the last suitor that hadn't learned his lesson, this one had. This one made a lunge for the saddle and managed to secure a similar hold as the first suitor on the saddle.

Prince then attempted the tried and true method of dislodging an insect, shake. That did not work so he went to Plan B. He deliberately took four steps so that he was fully out of the box and then made the decision to roll. That usually got rid of the more persistent insects. To his happiness the suitor promptly feel off once he lay down with a groan and a sigh. Then he hauled himself back up onto his feet and gave a good shake, yawning for good measure.

The next suitor Prince knew was bad news from the start. He could smell the arrogance and the abusive tendencies even before the man got close. He decided that he would not wait for him to take the first swing. He decided that he would get rid of him as fast and unceremoniously as he could. Once he was close enough he simply planted both of his back feet into his chest and sent him packing as far and as fast as he could.

The last suitor Prince also did not like at all. This one not only had arrogance written from head to foot, but he definitely did not have good intentions for Hermione, he could tell. He was more interested in something else she could offer, what he was not sure. But Prince was sure that he would not protect Hermione. He felt that this suitor was more predatory than even parasitic. He would more likely than not harm Hermione. Prince made the decision that he was not just a threat to her in the competition, but in life as well and as such would have to be eliminated as soon as possible. Charging him he knocked him to the ground and proceeded to try to plant his front hooves into his skull. Unfortunately the little stinker was slicker than he had thought and was able to dodge the hooves rocketing towards his face.

Just as he thought he might be making head way attacking him, he was stopped. He heard a voice, one that he recognized and one that he would obey. It was Severus. He was standing off to the side of the crowd. He promptly forgot the slug at his feet and made his way to him, his tail down and nose lowered, showing that he would not attack him. He received a pat and then was lead back to his box. Then to Prince's surprise the saddle he wore was removed and taken away. With another pat he felt as Severus hauled himself onto his back. This was the first time that he had ever been ridden bareback. But he trusted Severus and had carried him in saddle before. Though this arrangement was different and strange he decided he was ok with it.

Lifting his tail and nose proudly as Severus sat upon his back, signifying the importance of the person he bore, he then trotted off to stand next to Hermione and Lucy. He watched as they talked beside him and there was a kiss exchanged. Prince felt that his job was done and that the torch was now passed between him and Severus, he would take care of Hermione from now on. Severus was the only human male that he would ever relinquish control over Hermione to. His life was good.

**A/N: well I hoped you all liked the bug eye turnips, I mean the chapter, (I know I just had TOO much fun with that. anyway on to some rather important authors notes.**

**There will only be one more post this week, Friday. I have too much happening Thursdays to even figure out which direction up is. It is the busiest day of my week I get up at 7 and don't go to bed until almost 1 Friday morning (good thing my first class isn't until 11 Friday morning). I will be posting sometime on Friday afternoon. But after that I am going home for the weekend, I shall once again be stranded from the internet *frown*. I will post again on Monday though, probably later in the day. that being said, I hope you all leave me lots of lovely reviews in the mean time. I really do enjoy reading them. **

**As for a question posed by lotus elise, I figured I would address it here as well as many of you might not know what a catch 22 is. I guess it is an Americanism and should have commented on it before. Basically a catch 22 is a situation where no matter the outcome nothing will turn out well. just like the situation with the unbreakable vow I had Severus and Dumbledore enter into. If he didn't take the unbreakable vow he would have been out of the order. if he took the unbreakable vow he would be doomed to kill Dumbledore, effectively also sending him out of the order and putting him on the order's hit list. the name catch 22 is actually a book name as well. don't know the author and I never read it, but I have heard it isn't too bad. It is an older book, I want to say that it was written in the 40s or 50s but, don't hold me to the dates, specific history dates are not my strong point. **

**Alright, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, next chapter deals with the day after, when Hermione comes to sign the contract. Please, please, please review. Until next posting- Dragons Quill **


	42. Is That Your Final Answer?

**A/N: awe thanks guys, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, I am so glad you liked the least chapter. It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to write considering I had such a limiting factor as what Prince has actually seen. Ok enough of my gabber, I will let you all get on the next chapter, though I will not be so merciless with the end author's notes. *grin***

_Is that your final answer?_ (42)

Hermione walked into Severus' office at exactly ten the next morning. She saw that he sat behind his desk with his fingers tented and surrounding his nose, as if he were balancing his head by his nose between his fingers. He looked tired and drawn as he sat there. She did not know if he was asleep or not, but had little choice but to wake him so that she could sign the marriage contract. There was a piece of parchment before him that looked very much like what his marriage contract would look like.

"Severus." She called quietly. "I am here to sign the contract." He opened his eyes and looked critically at her.

"Are you sure that you want to sign a contract to be bound to me for the rest of your days?" He asked in a tired, almost frightened and saddened tone.

"Yes Severus, I am sure." She nodded. He did not reply, but reached into his desk and pulled out two vials. One was a dark, nearly black glass vial; the second was a green glass vial. Taking the stopper out of the black vial he drank the Potion down and looked at Hermione. "What was that?" She asked, scared he might have done something detrimental to himself.

"Veritaserum." He told her. "I have decided that I should tell you everything that you will need to know to make an informed decision. I don't want you to regret your decision later."

"But…" She began unsure of how to respond.

"No," he interrupted her. "I want to do this; I must have a clean conscious when this happens. I don't want you to make a mistake."

"I don't believe I am." She told him. "How much Veritaserum did you take?"

"I took about a teaspoon. Three drops is enough for anyone to spill their deepest darkest secrets. I figured that I would have a little extra just for good measure." He told her. "Now on to what I want to tell you.

I have loved you for a long time, in fact I have been jealous of Potter being able to have everything he wants all the time, and I assumed that that would include you. Now I see with the Marriage Law that could not have happened, and it seems he has found his match with Miss Weasley. The last three years have been both a joy and a torment. I have wanted to reach out and run my hand through your hair and to hold you tight for so long. I was amazed by the lengths that you went through to attempt a friendship with such a man as myself.

I am not a generally kind man. I am quick to anger and short on generosity. My past is black and for a long time I could not see my future as being any better. I am also a very jealous man. I must tell you that if you sign this contract I shall never let you go. You have been the object of my affection for a long time, and for a long time I have assumed that I could never have such a beautiful and kind creature as yourself. If you choose to become bonded to me I will do everything within my power to love, care and protect you. I will strive to love you even though I have not had any good role models from which to take my example.

As for what the Marriage Law requires us to do I will apologize in advance. I have not and never want to take a woman against her will. I also have not taken any woman, as I would have to trust her implicitly to be as unguarded as such an act would require. I do not trust very many people easily. As the law now requires me to produce children I have little choice if the woman I marry does not want me. I will say that I will be as gentle as possible.

In all truthfulness I never believed I would create or ever desire to have children. I did not have a happy youth, and I did not want to create children that would have a similar childhood. Now that the law requires me to produce offspring I will admit that of all the women I could be _forced_ to have children with, it is _you _Hermione that I would _want_ to have children with. You are an amazing young woman. If I am to produce children I want it to be with a woman that I trust, love and admire. You are the strongest witch of your age, and I am now perhaps the strongest wizard alive. Such an alliance would surely create powerful children. They would be able to do anything they wanted with their lives.

I have told you this because I don't want to you to be bound to me if it is not your choice. I could never fell right about forcing you to do anything that you did not want when it was within my power to prevent it. This is your last chance to walk away and I will understand why if you do. If you do sign the contract then I will never let you go, you will be mine." He said unguardedly and with only a slight hesitation. He looked at Hermione with a fear and touch of sadness that she had not seen from him before. She realized that he believe she would reject him, walking out of his life forever.

"Severus." She said looking at him and went around his desk to stand beside him. She took his hand and pulled at it to make him stand before her. He complied silently. She put her hands upon his chest and looked up into his eyes. "Severus, you are a good man. You have done great good for the Wizarding World and any woman would be a fool to walk away from the offer you propose.

I know if I have to spread my legs and give birth to six live children it will not be an easy task. I know that I want those children to be fathered by a strong, intelligent and respectful wizard whom I love. I want my children to be sired by you Severus, and no one else. I know that you will treat my right and that you will do whatever it is in your power to love me. I have seen a glimpse of your desire in your eyes before, but I did not know that you loved me until you told me so. I know that you jealously guard what you view as yours, and I shall never leave once I become yours. I would have it no other way." She looked into his eyes, seeing warmth and emotion cursing through his body. After looking up at him and catching his gaze for a brief eternity, she gently guided his head down towards her own and gently kissed his lips for a moment.

Severus reached cautiously up with his hands to touch her head and waist, drawing her closer and running his hand through her hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Pulling away panting after a significant time period, they rested their foreheads together, trying to catch their breaths.

"You are an amazing kisser." Hermione sighed. "I don't believe I have ever been kissed with so much passion before. That was amazing. Where did you learn to kiss so well?"

"You are the first woman I have ever kissed Hermione." He told her.

"Really?" She asked in astonishment.

"I have yet to take the antidote, I cannot lie." He told her with a slightly stern edge into his voice.

"Well I have to say that you are an incredible kisser, a real natural. Perhaps this will not be the only thing you are a natural at." She said with a suggestive grin. He raised an eyebrow at this proposition.

"We will just have to see." He responded.

"Yes, and we will see tomorrow night." Hermione told him. "Where is the contract so that I can sign it? I will tell you about the wedding when I have done that."

"It is on the desk." Severus told her. They still had their foreheads together. Hermione still had her arms wrapped around his neck and he had both hands around her waist, holding her close to him. Neither was making any effort to leave the comfort of the other's embrace. Hermione made the first move, but it was not to move away. She tilted her head back and then gently kissed him on the end of his nose and then nuzzled him with her own. She smiled as she did this and almost purred.

Severus was surprised, but he recovered quickly and then ran his cheek along hers. Until his lips were even with her ear. Tilting his cheek away he placed a soft lingering kiss on her neck just below her ear enticing her to nearly purr again. "I love you." He whispered into her ear.

"I know," she sighed into his ear. "I love you too." After a moment she pulled herself away with a great sigh. She turned away from him to the desk and reached out for a quill. She quickly skimmed the Marriage Contract before her and saw that it was all in order. Inking the quill she bent slightly and signed her name in the indicated spot. When she had signed, the Marriage Contract disappeared with a tiny puff of smoke.

Severus snaked his arms around her waist from the back and nuzzled her ear with his nose, smelling her shampoo. "Now you are mine." He said in a soft growl and nibbled her ear affectionately. Hermione's knees started to feel a bit shaky, but she was able to continue to stand. "I never believed that I would ever hold such a willing, intelligent and beautiful woman in my arms. Or that such a woman would ever consent to be my wife and become the mother of my children. This really is a dream come true." He let his hand run over her abdomen to rest above her womb. Hermione could feel him beginning to make another statement of his appreciation against her backside, but instead of pulling away, she leaned back to rest her head on his shoulder, snuggling closer.

She rested her hand over his on her belly with a smile. "I always dreamed of a strong, intelligent man that would become my husband. One that could challenge me in an intellectual debate, help expand my knowledge and to keep me safe and warm. Only such a man would I allow to become the father of my future children, our children." She turned and laid a kiss on his jaw line. "We need to discuss tomorrow. You don't know any of the details of the wedding." She told him after a moment. "You will need to pick yourself out someone to standup with you. I already have Ginny to stand up with me."

"I believe I know who to ask." He assured her. "Now, I would like to take the antidote and go back to my regular guarded self, this is not a comfortable state of openness to be in for me." He reached out and took the green glass vial and drank it down as Hermione nodded. He did not immediately let go of Hermione, nor did she make any indications she wanted to move away either. He leaned around and planted a soft kiss on the side of her throat, his hand still beneath hers on her abdomen.

Finally after a brief few minutes she drew herself away from his arms and crossed back to sit in a chair in front of his desk with a sigh. Even though she could see that he was once again more of his usual guarded self, she could see a smoldering in his eyes. She could have sworn that she had seen such an emotion in his eyes before, but it had always been hidden.

Now he did not try to hide such a feeling. His eyes swept her form, as she sat in her chair, making her feel very uncomfortably comfortable. She wanted nothing more than to cross over to his side of the desk and sit on his lap. But she stayed stubbornly in her own chair. There would be more than enough time tomorrow night for such things.

Severus for his part was having a hard time concentrating on anything but her, well her person to be exact. He had seen her womanly curves as she had worked the horses and he had felt those curves as he had held her close. Now that he had tasted of her, he found it an exercise in all his will power to sit across the desk from her and not hold her, but he would. Their wedding would be the next day. He would, he had to wait just that long, he had waited his entire life up to that point, what was a few more hours and one more night? Clutching the arms of his chair determinedly he forced himself to focus on what Hermione was saying about the wedding, it was incredibly important that he listened and understood.

**A/N: ok everybody I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I know I said that I would post again on Monday, but this next chapter is really proving to be a pain in my side, so it isn't ready to post yet. Not only is it something I have sat and agonized over in the exact construct of the delivery, but some of the more important concepts as well (conducting the wedding), the hardest part is the marked atrophy of my avid writing abilities, mainly attributed to the fact I now have something other than fan fic to ponder all day. but never fear the chapter is almost done I just have to wrap up a few loose ends and then have the last bit betaed (sort of an ongoing thing) and then I can post. I don't know if I will have too much time this weekend, as I have a seminar to go to, but I don't believe that you will have to wait until next weekend to get it. I will have time to write this week when I am relegated to guarding my laundry (people actually steal laundry from the laundry room, can you believe it!?). anyways I do believe you guys should know that there is only going to be a couple more chapters to the story, at least 2, can't promise anything more. **

**Anyways, thanks so much for all the reviews you guys have left so far, I really love the fact that my writing has brought forth such a response. I know it has certainly helped me to become a better writer, or at least a more confident one. **

**Oh, I also would like to ask you all a question, it really has sort of bugged me. I know that a lot of other fics reference WIKKT and whispers. I know enough to know that they are other fan fic sites of some sort, but I just can't figure out where/what/ how to get there. so if someone could please drop me a bit more of an explanation or a website/ url that would be awesome! Thanks!**

**As always I must send major magnificent kudos to my wonderful beta, friend and fan fic 'sis' skydancinghobbit. She is definitely the one keeping my writing in character and giving me encouragement as I ponder my next move in my writing endeavors. Until next time, Dragons Quill **


	43. A Triple Sunrise Service

**A/N: Boy oh boy, you guys are lucky! I was near the end of the chapter anyways, but I didn't actually expect to finish it as quick as I did. Anyway you all get to reap the benefits. I had the last part betaed and it is now ready for your reading pleasure. This was actually the hardest chapter for me to write, I hope you all like what I was able to wring out of my poor exhausted brain and put into cyberspace. I must also thank skydancinghobbit (my beta), for Severus' middle name. We both thought he needed a middle name, and why I didn't think of it, I will never know, but his middle name is thanks to her. Ok, fine I will stop stealing your attentions and let you get on with the chapter.**

**I FEEL IT IS MY DUTY AS A RESPONSIBLE AUTHOR TO ISSUE A SAPPY ADVISORY!!! **

_A triple sunrise service_ (43)

AN- must thank my beta Skydancinghobbit for Severus' middle name

Hermione and Severus both did not get much sleep that night for different, yet similar reasons. Hermione was nervous and fidgety as well as spending her time with 'the girls' in something akin to a bachelorette party. Ginny, Tonks and herself were all gathered into Hermione's chambers, the last night she would spend in the Gryffindor Head of House rooms.

It had been discussed earlier that day that she would move down to Severus' chambers to live with him there. He had been at the castle longer and he could not bring himself to move out of his beloved dungeons. Hermione had agreed to move in with him, they were getting married after all. Minerva had made arrangements to charm the door to take those who wanted to speak with Hermione to another room near her new joint chambers.

The three women began their party soon after Hermione and Severus had finished with their meeting and they had gone to bed about the same time the sun went down. Normally such a party would have lasted long into the wee hours of the morning, but seeing as the next day was going to be a big day for all of them they needed their rest.

It was not only Hermione that was to be married, but Ginny and Tonks as well. It had been decided early on; when the Marriage Law was first past that they would all have their marriages on the same day. It was really very beneficial for all of them. Having the weddings on the same day let them invite everyone they loved and cared for, for all of them, Hermione and Ginny especially, had the same people to invite. Hermione had also insisted that she wanted to have at least some sort of happy memory. She had not been holding out much hope for there to be any good suitors for her hand and that she would be forced to marry someone she did not love. She figured that she might as well have a happy memory of a wedding on her wedding day, even if it wasn't her own. Now that she knew she was going to marry Severus she felt her heart swell with love and her stomach with butterflies.

It had taken all of her willpower to leave his office after signing the contract and discussing the logistics of the next day to her intended. When she had risen from her chair to bid him a good day, he had also risen. He had followed her to the door and she could feel the heat roll off of him even as he stood a good foot behind her. She paused once she was at the door and he came to stand a few inches behind her.

"I will see you tomorrow morning then Severus," she breathed out, not looking at him, fighting not to look at him.

"Yes." He whispered beside her ear making her jump. He placed his hand gently on her waist and let his thumb stroke her side ever so gently. She could feel her knees grow week and she closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of his hand against her waist. "And when the excitement has died down," he breathed in a deep breath of her hair. "We should definitely start attempting to satisfy the second portion of the law."

Hermione smirked. "I don't think that there will be any worry that we aren't doing our part." She commented, leaning back against him, feeling his rather pointed attentions against her backside and couldn't help herself but to shift her hips against him suggestively. Her efforts were greeted with a growl between pain and arousal.

"It is best if you leave now witch." He hissed. "Or we may be in violation of the law be skipping the first part." He did not however remove his hand from her waist.

"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" She purred, taking his hand from her waist and bringing it to her lips to kiss his knuckles. He leaned down a kissed her throat gently. With a sigh between a groan and an acceptance of what he offered she pulled reluctantly away, turning around to face him.

"Until tomorrow then." He whispered, bringing her hand to his lips. She nodded weakly. She could see in his eyes he did not want to let go of her hand. He closed his eyes and she could see in his posture that he was steeling himself again. She gently pulled her hand away from his and he opened his eyes. He was trying to hide the flames that raged inside, but he was unable.

"Go." He growled between gritted teeth, and to anyone else it would have sounded as if he was terribly upset with her. She could see him trying to quench the fire, but it would not be extinguished. With a nod she quickly turned on her heal and fled and did not look back because she knew if she did that she would not have been able to leave.

Just remembering the exchange between her and Severus was making her blush and get quite hot and bothered. She was sitting in front of a mirror in her chambers while Ginny fussed with her hair. And Tonks was working on her makeup. They would have a ceremony at each event of the day. She and Severus were getting married at sunrise. Tonks and Lupin were to be married at noon and Harry and Ginny at sunset. They would each do each other's hair and makeup between the ceremonies and a quick meal after each wedding. The big reception was going to be after Harry and Ginny's wedding when the sun went down.

The time between waking and Hermione's wedding went by with astonishing speed, but still seemed to crawl at a snail's speed for both Hermione and Severus. Hermione and Ginny left their chambers at nearly 5:30, the ceremony was to take place at sunrise down by the lake. Tonks had left a few minutes before them to find a seat among the family and friends gathered.

Once they were out of the castle they hurried down to the canopies set up beside the lake. There was a graceful arch of white and pastel pink/peach roses near the edge of the water and she could see that Minerva stood beneath it. She had chosen Minerva to officiate over the service because she felt it was important for everyone she held as important to be part of her wedding. She would have preferred if it had been Dumbledore officiating, but seeing as he was dead that definitely put a halt on that.

There were two separate canopies that were hung over rows of seating, but there was a space between them allowing for the center isle they created to be open to the sky. The isle had been transfigured so that the ground was flat and hard and had a thin white length of silk laid out for Hermione to walk on. Light pink rose pedals had been strewn along the path. The silk path led to a pair of wide shallow stairs that made a platform where the marriages would actually occur. The arch of flowers was sitting on top of this and Minerva stood beneath the arch waiting. A pair of torches were burning on the platform on either side of the arch. Fawkes sat on top of the archway looking regal as always. She assumed he had put himself there, as it had not originally been part of the plan. She would not complain. She was marrying a Phoenix Keeper after all, it seemed right that he should be part of the ceremony as well.

Severus stood off to the left hand side with Lupin looking smashing in dress robes. She was surprised to see Lupin there at first, but then realized that he was who Severus had chosen to stand with him. The sun was just beginning to become visible over the dark shadow of the Forbidden Forest behind the lake. Ginny went up the isle way first and then Arthur Weasley extended his arm to Hermione. As her parents were dead, and the Weasleys had always loved her like a daughter it was decided that Arthur would be the one to give her away, even though the hope that Molly had held that Ron and Hermione would one day marry had been dashed.

"You look lovely my dear." Arthur whispered to her with a smile, giving her a light peck on the cheek when he met her at the end of the silk path. "I am honored to do this for you. I'm sure you two will go well together."

"Thank you." She said. "Even though my dad can't be here today, I'm sure that he would approve of you in his stead."

"Your parents would be proud to know how well you grew up. Now I believe we must be going. We can't keep Severus waiting; he very well may explode if we wait too much longer." He told her. She smiled at both thoughts.

From somewhere the wedding march began and he escorted her up the aisle and onto Severus' extended arm, to guide her up the last step to stand before Minerva. As she looked at him her breath caught in her throat and she found it very hard to breath. He was dressed in dark green robes that were cut to eliminate the billowing, very similar to a tuxedo type of a cut. Embroidered all over the dark green velvet material were faint outlines of snakes curved into S shapes, making his robes glint in the early morning light as he moved. Looking into his eyes she could see love and the flames of desire smoldering in their dark obsidian depths. She felt that if she looked long enough she could fall into those eyes and get lost, which would not be too objectionable in her estimation. He could not hide the gentle smile that softened his face and showed her how much he cherished and loved her. His hair was drawn back with a silver and green ribbon and his Order of Merlin was pinned to his robes.

As Severus saw Hermione come down from the castle, pausing to talk to Arthur Weasley at the end of the silk path, his breath caught in his throat and his heart stopped in his chest. She had told him that she was not wearing a traditional Wizarding wedding robe; instead she was wearing a muggle dress that had been worn by her mother, in her honor. She had claimed that she had modified it only a little to make it a bit more appropriate. He carefully looked her up and down as she walked up the isle on Arthur's arm.

The dress was of a strapless variety that clung tightly to the curves of her upper body and accented her slender waist. Below the bodice of the dress were three or four cascading layers of white silk that created a floor length dress. The bodice of the dress had flowery patterns embroidered into the white silk done in gold thread with what seemed to have a stray red thread. Each layer of silk making up the skirt was edged in red thread, but as it also sparkled as there was a stray gold thread in the edgings as well. It was clearly a Gryffindor wedding dress if he ever saw one, just as his robes were unquestionably Slytherin.

Her hair was twisted up into a French knot on top of her head and accented with a peach/pink rose to one side and small white flowers. She wore a pair of earrings that had a teardrop ruby suspended below a triplet of small diamonds. The necklace was of diamonds that connected into one strand of three as well, leading to another ruby that sat a few inches below her collar bone. Her Order of Merlin also hung in the center of her bodice, just between the swell of her breasts.

Severus had visited Gringotts the day before, after their meeting. He had picked up the necklace and earrings from what had been his mother's jewelry. He had sent the necklace and earrings with Dobby that night with a letter explaining that she should wear them at the wedding. He had also retrieved the family heirloom engagement ring that had been passed down through the generations of Snapes. His father had saved it back for when his son got married. He would be turning over in his grave if he knew Severus was marrying someone who was of muggle decent. But at this point he didn't care. The rings that they would be exchanging in the ceremony would also be family heirlooms.

Guiding her up to stand before Minerva he looked into her eyes and saw her face shinning with happiness and love. He had never in his wildest dreams believed he would survive the War and come to hold a willing, beautiful intelligent woman as his wife. Normally he would have been inclined to believe it was all a dream, but he had decided that he would put aside his cynicism for today, the day he gave his heart and soul to Hermione, his wife. Fawkes cooed welcomingly from his perch above Minerva

"Welcome." Minerva said to the assembly. "We are gathered here today in the early morning light to celebrate the handfasting of these two individuals, Hermione Jane Granger and Severus Darcy Snape. Just as the sun rises a new each day in the east, we gather at sunrise to celebrate a new beginning in the lives of these two people and remember that even though the past may look dark that there is always a new day coming to override the night." At this she gave a small knowing smile at Severus. From above her Fawkes gave a gentle warming coo in agreement. "I ask that you now join your right hands to begin the ceremony."

Hermione handed her small bouquet of roses over to Ginny who held them for her. In this time Severus unbuttoned the cuff on his right arm and rolled the sleeve back, leaving his wrist exposed. Reaching out they both grasped the other's wrist. Hermione felt the hardness of his wrist bones beneath her hand and the tension that was in his tendons and it contrasted deliciously with his strong warm hand around her wrist. His hand was slightly rough from years of working with caustic Potions ingredients and countless hours gathering ingredients from various places, including the hard ground. His hand was warm and comforting against the skin of her arm.

Severus could feel the tension in her wrist as well and marveled at the delicate nature of her wrist. He was almost afraid to take it for fear he would snap it in two if he held too hard. He reveled in the warmth of her smooth skin beneath his fingers. Feeling her warm silky fingers wrap around his wrist was heaven. He could feel her pulse beating against his own as their pulse points rested together in their embrace. Their hearts were beating as one, drawing them closer to becoming one.

"This ribbon represents the bond that is being formed between you both." Minerva said holding up a length of white satin ribbon for those assembled to see. "This represents a bond that no man or woman shall break, a bond that is so strong that no adversity shall ever overcome It." She laid the ribbon perpendicular to their wrists and let it hang evenly on both sides of their clasped arms. She then took out her wand and rested the tip over the juncture of their wrists.

"This is a bond made in love, trust and respect of each other. The promises made by each of you here today are of a lasting and meaningful measure. If there is any doubt in either of your minds than I would advise you to speak of it now, before the bond is begun as there is no backing out after this." She looked at both of them meaningfully, as it was part of the ceremony, making sure that both parties were willing and knowing participants in the handfasting. Both gave a nod of acknowledgment and agreement to what was about to happen. With a smile she continued and looked at Severus first.

"Do you Severus Darcy Snape agree to be bound to Hermione Jane Granger in the bond of matrimony, honoring her with love, fidelity and respect as she bears your children and comforts you when times are hard? Will you always remain faithful and allow the bond you share to deepen with time, despite whatever hardships come your way and as you grow old together?"

"I do and I shall with a happy heart." He said with his eyes shining as he looked at Hermione. One end of the ribbon rose to bind around Hermione's hand as it held his wrist.

"Do you Hermione Jane Granger agree to be bound to Severus Snape in the bond of matrimony, honoring him with love, fidelity and respect as you bear his children and he comforts you in your distress? Will you always remain faithful and allow the bond you share to deepen with time, despite whatever hardships come your way as you grow old together?"

"I do and shall with a happy heart." She told him with a smile. The other end of the ribbon wound itself tightly around her wrist as he held it.

Fawkes whistled a thrill of power as the ribbon secured itself around their clasped arms. Hermione could feel as there was a power spike from Severus as the sound died down. But no sooner had the last refrain dissipated when another was heard, farther off, but unquestionably from a Phoenix bird. There was another spike of power, this time from Hermione. No one said anything or moved. Normally the person officiating would seal the bond with their wand at this point in time, but Minerva was silent and still, looking up at the couple in surprise.

Fawkes leapt from the archway above them and took to the sky. As they all turned their heads up to follow his beautiful red and gold plumage there was a green and silver streak that joined him in the sky above the couple. Both streaks of color paused midair above the couple and hovered. A large green and silver Phoenix hovered above Hermione as Fawkes hovered above Severus.

After a moment of what seemed like contemplation between the two birds they began to fly in a figure eight type of flight pattern above the couple, singing a song that no one could ever remember hearing before. As they sung their song above them each could feel the power surge in the other. Looking back down at their hands there appeared to be more than just the ribbon binding them. From Severus' side of the bond came a tendril of red translucent energy that wound its way around their arms from his elbow to hers. There was also a green translucent band of energy that flowed from her end to wrap around their clasped arms in the opposite direction, from her elbow to his. The white satin ribbon that bound their hands seemed to almost glow white beneath the flow of energy between them.

"I declare that this bond is now complete." Minerva said after a moment of looking at the birds and then down at their hands, almost as if she was in a trance. The satin ribbon flashed a brilliant white, tightened for a second and was no more. The flowing bonds of colored energy also flared and seemed to constrict and then were also gone. The couple was left standing with Minerva's wand resting at the juncture of their wrists. With a smile she removed her wand and replaced it to her sleeves. The two Phoenix stopped and hovered over their respective companions. They both glanced up with a smile, though there was a definite look of questioning on Hermione's face as she peered up at the bird above her.

"_Hello,"_ she heard in her head as the green Phoenix hovered above her, looking into her eyes. _"I am Emerald and you are now my new companion. You have chosen yourself a very powerful mate. I am sure that you will produce some very powerful chicks together. We will get to know each other better a little later. As for now we will leave you to yourselves for a few days."_ The birds gave one final call and then they flew off together towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Now there will be an exchange of rings to signify the everlasting nature of this bond and as a token of the love that you have for one another." Minerva said, bringing Hermione's attention back to the task at hand, literally.

Severus gently let go of her arm and she did the same for him. Then he reached out his hand and Lupin handed him two rings. He reached down and brought her left hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. He then flattened her hand out and slipped onto her ring finger first the wedding band and then the engagement ring. The wedding band was a simple gold ring with inlays of silver that shown against the gold. The silver was shaped into Ss and formed a chain of delicate silver around the ring. The engagement ring was of titanium that shown silver in the morning sun. It was shaped into a two headed snake that wound its way around her finger. The heads came together at the base of a Slytherin green emerald. The snake's eyes were inlaid with a tiny diamond chips, making their eyes sparkle.

Holding out her hand to Ginny she handed her the ring for Severus. It was of the same design as her wedding band only thicker as it was a man's ring. She took his left hand in her own and slipped the ring on to his finger and then kissed his knuckles as well. They stood for a moment holding each other's hands.

"You may now kiss and complete the ceremony." Minerva announced to them after a moment. Severus let go of her hand and reached up to cup the side of her face and then leaned down to claim her mouth in a searing kiss. Hermione reached up with both her arms and wrapped them around his neck as he drew her close with his other hand around her waist.

The kiss that they shared was extremely brief, but that did not mean that it was not completely impassioned or forced. Actually the opposite was true and that was the reason for the briefness of the kiss. Both feared that if they continued the kiss much longer that they would not be able to control themselves, leading to a rather embarrassing outcome and a loss of all public face for Severus, which would be totally unacceptable.

"May I present to you the new Mr. and Mrs., Lord and Lady Snape." Minerva called as they stopped kissing, but did not pull away from each other. They looked into each other's eyes as they rested their foreheads together.

"It would seem that I am no longer the only Phoenix Keeper at Hogwarts." He commented with a slight smirk.

"So it would appear." She sighed back. "I think we have to go now." She whispered after a moment when everyone was cheering the new couple. "There will be breakfast in the great hall and I suddenly find myself famished." He smirked at this and then pulled away reluctantly. He offered out his arm to her and she took it with a smile. Minerva spoke over crowd and spoke over the clapping.

"I would suggest that we all adjourn to the Great Hall. Breakfast should be waiting there for us all. Then we can continue on with the day's festivities." Severus then led Hermione down the stairs and along the silk pathway and towards the castle. Ginny and Lupin followed them and the rest of the crowd was in their wake.

Breakfast was quite an interesting affair. Minerva had insisted that everyone who was to marry was to sit at the head table. She had also relinquished her place at the center of the table in favor of Hermione and Severus. The other two couples were separated from each other, all the guys on one side while the girls sat on the other. Minerva took a seat further down the table. They had a normal enough breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes, although the house elves seemed to have outdone themselves by laying the food out more lavishly that before.

The four great big house tables had been removed and smaller tables had been arranged holding eight people apiece. The smaller tables were all arranged so that they all stood at the end of the hall where the head table was set up, allowing for there to be a small stage to be set up in one of the far corners for the Weird Sisters to be the band for the night after Harry and Ginny's wedding. The space between the stage and the tables was a sizable dance floor.

Both Hermione and Severus found it very difficult to eat breakfast. first they tried to hold hands beneath the table, but that was soon abandoned as eating required the use of their dominate hands, and seeing as they were both right handed it presented a definite problem for Severus. They had to become content with Severus resting his hand on her right knee and she looking lovingly at him between bites of food. Another obstacle in the way of eating was the repeated demands from those gathered to kiss. Severus had easily complied with the demands for the first few, but then gave a pointed glare at the next person who suggested it. He was able to curb such things by commenting on the fact he needed to eat.

Hermione also knew that it had a lot to do with the bond they now shared. The power surge that had flashed through them when the Phoenix had sung and the bond was solidified was intense. She knew and obviously he felt it to, that if they began to kiss too much it would indeed lead to something more rather quickly. Since there were two more weddings to perform that day, she knew she would not be able to slip away with him for something much more private. Besides she didn't want her first time to be something rushed, at least not something on a timetable. That just was wrong.

She understood that his reluctance to kiss her repeatedly was not from lack of want, she could see the desire in his eyes, but more out of respect for propriety. Far too soon for Severus and Hermione's liking breakfast was over and the food magiced away. With this cue, it was time for Hermione and Severus to once again part company for a time.

"I love you." She whispered in his ear, as she rose to leave with Tonks and Ginny to get Tonks ready for her wedding at noon.

"Do you really have to go?" He asked in a whispered growl.

"Yes, I must, but I will sit with you at their wedding." She told him. "We promised that we would help each other get ready for each other's weddings."

"Fine." He sighed reluctantly, he had already known the answer, but he couldn't help but ask. Now that she was his new wife, not even married hours yet, he didn't want to let her out of his sight.

"I will meet you in a few hours," she told him. "Until then try to stay out of trouble and enjoy some of your time with the guests." She gave him smile a quick kiss on the lips before they parted. He raised an eyebrow and watched as she left with the girls through the staff entrance.

The hours between the end of breakfast and just before noon went by excruciatingly slow for Severus. He could not spend his time in the twittering company of the guests, nor could he make himself go back to his own chambers married, but without his new wife in his arms. So he did what he always did to when he could not settle his mind, he prowled the halls. He really did not notice where he was going or think about where his feet were taking him, but he found that he stood in front of the Gryffindor Head of House door a minute or two before Hermione emerged.

"Oh!" She said surprised to see him standing outside her door. "I was just going to go down to the lake and find you in the crowd. I guess that saves me the time looking for you." She smiled at him.

"What happened to what you had on before?" Severus asked, surprised to see that she had a traditional bridal party robe. He was just a bit disappointed; he had been looking forward to be the one to remove her wedding dress.

"Never fear." She said with a twinkle in her eye, crossing over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I still have my dress on; I just threw this over it for later. I wouldn't want anyone but you to help me out of my wedding dress." She smiled mischievously.

Severus groaned as if he was in pain, which if you want to be particular, he was, mainly due to the confining nature of his garments. He held Hermione close and nuzzled her neck, planting a soft kiss on her throat. "You have no idea what you do to me witch." He growled through gritted teeth into her neck.

"I do believe I do." She said, pressing her body next to his. "But, unfortunately, we still have a few hours before we can explore just how much we affect each other." She said with a sigh as he trailed feather light kisses along her jaw bone and she raised her jaw to afford him better access. Her eyes had fluttered closed.

There was a _very_ staged cough that suddenly broke through the wonderful feeling of Severus gently nibbling the soft skin just below her ear. Startled they both jumped apart like teenagers caught doing something they shouldn't, a blush rising delicately to Hermione's neck. Ginny and Tonks stood behind the couple with annoyedly amused looks on their faces.

"What?" Hermione asked as innocently as possible as the blush darkened. Severus was trying his best to scowl deeply at both women. Both Ginny and Tonks raised a single eyebrow. "It's not like we're doing anything wrong." She said defensively. "We are married after all."

"But we aren't." Ginny said, trying not to laugh.

"But I will be shortly." Tonks said with a smile. "That is if you would not get between me and my wedding."

"By all means, pass." Severus said, failing to sound indifferent, moving out of her way, gesturing for her to pass.

Hermione smiled and reached out, catching his hand in hers. "Come on," she giggled, "it would not do to arrive after the bride and we are not going to miss the wedding." Severus looked slightly disappointed, but allowed himself to be drawn along down the hall, although it was slightly reluctantly.

"Are you sure we just can't go someplace much more private?" He hissed striding along beside her.

"I would love to, and would do so in a heartbeat if I was not expected to participate in Ginny's wedding." She told him, eyeing his form hungrily, as he gracefully kept pace with her.

Severus gave a deep sigh and offered out his arm as they were walking so that she could grasp it. "I guess I must play the gentleman then." He grumbled. "Just as long as I don't have to wait too long to claim what is now rightfully mine wife." He was eyeing her with no reservations now as they walked out the front door.

"Only if you promise not to deny me what is mine, husband." She grinned.

Tonks and Lupin's wedding was beautiful and touching. Minerva officiated over this wedding as well. Lupin wore the same robes that he had stood with Severus in, while Tonks wore a traditional bridal robe. The bride though was anything but traditional, as was Tonks' style. The main thing that stuck out was her hot pink hair and violently purple highlights. They had tried to convince her to change it to something less glaring, but she had insisted that that just couldn't happen. She had to express her happiness and excitement somehow. Both Ginny and Hermione had given exasperated sighs and decided they would just give up. It was Tonks' wedding anyway.

Tonks and Lupin had chosen to marry at noon time because it was the time the sun was its strongest. This strength hopefully would help counter the effects of the moon on Lupin's health and demeanor. A noon wedding also helped make sure that their bond was strong during the time of the sun, and that strength would carry over through the nights when Lupin would have to undergo his change, helping him to endure it easier.

Lunch was once again an interesting affair. This time it was not so much the reason that it was at breakfast. Hermione and Severus, and it seemed Lupin and Tonks had figured that out as well. The problem came in with what to do with Ginny and Harry. Normally it wouldn't be such a problem. But as they were the only ones still not married, but would be shortly, and it appeared that they would not be opposed to snogging each other all throughout the meal, sitting next to each other was not going to be allowed. The job of keeping them apart was delegated for the now semi-sour looking Minerva who was 'elected' to sit between them. Severus also seemed was just a bit sour about the fact that there seemed to be a call to kiss for every bite of his shepherd's pie. Hermione smiled at him and squeezed his hand under the table.

"Come now Severus, it really isn't all that bad." She smiled as he tried to scowl at her. "I do ask that you refrain from frowning at everyone, they might think that you don't like the fact you are now married."

"That isn't it." He grumbled, though the scowl that sat on his lips did not translate to his eyes. His eyes told a completely different story of what he wanted to be doing at this moment. It certainly wasn't sitting demurely and eating lunch! His eyes radiated with heat and desire, but it seemed that only his years as a spy, learning great control was allowing him to sit and appear unmoved.

"I know, but they don't." She smiled and gently ran her fingers in patterns along the back of his hand. He closed his eyes and his face registered almost a grimace. After a moment he grabbed her hand with his own to still it. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand ever so gently, looking into her eyes as he did.

"They always were dunderheads, the lot of them." He whispered as he continued to hold her hand, though it was lowered to sit below the table on his leg. His eyes swept her form briefly before they settled back onto her face.

"So, this is your versions of sweet nothings," she said with a light blush creeping onto her cheeks and an ever so slightly evil grin on her face.

"You have no idea witch, what I am capable of." He said in a growled whisper and the shadow of a smirk touching the edges of his mouth, running his thumb across her knuckles, fingering her ring when he got to it.

"Is that so?" She asked, returning his smirk. "Would you be so kind good sir, to enlighten me in a few hours?"

"You have no idea what pleasure that would bring me, and consequently you as well." He growled ever so lightly leaning in to plant a kiss of promise on her lips, leaving her even pinker in the cheeks

All too soon lunch also ended and the food vanished, signifying that Hermione would once again have to leave his side. With a soft kiss to his cheek she whispered in his ear before she left. "Don't worry. In a few hours I won't have anywhere to be but in your arms and in _our_ bed for quite some time. I hope you don't have any plans for the next week."

"Those were my plans wife." He growled back in her ear catching her lips in a kiss before she disappeared through the staff entrance again.

Again the time between the meal and ceremony where Severus would once again be able to see and hold his wife crawled by. So to fill the time he once again prowled the castle. This time though, his steps were shadowed by Lupin.

"What do you want?" He grunted after about five minutes of having the werewolf as a shadow.

"The same thing that you want Severus." He sighed. "I want my wife. But as they are currently busy, it seems not to be for a time."

"You have it easier." Severus growled. "You don't have to go nearly a whole day newly married and not have your wife by your side when that is all you want." The stress of the arrangement was evident in his voice even to Lupin.

"Hold in there mate, things will be better soon." He told Severus.

"This may be the only time I can agree with you so fully." Severus admitted and then strode off again in search of the peace he knew he would not find until Hermione was once again in his arms.

This time he made sure that he stayed away from his wife's former rooms and made his way down with the crowd just as the sun was touching the horizon, signifying that the last wedding of the evening was about to occur. He really did not want to be present at Potter's wedding, but he wanted to see his wife. She was going to stand with Ginny and he wanted to be able to wrap his arms around his wife as soon as he was able.

The wedding was lovely as expected, with Molly completely soaking Arthur's robes with tears of having to part with her baby girl. Severus found this to be entirely too sentimental, but could not leave. That would be walking away from his wife, when all he wanted to do was to sweep her into his arms and carry her off, much like a cave man. He witnessed as Harry and Ginny were bond in the fading twilight, the ending of their childhood and the beginning of their adult lives together.

When the ceremony was finally finished, the newly married couple led the throng of people assembled back towards the castle. There way was lit by small paper lanterns that had been charmed to follow the procession on their way back to the castle. Severus watched as his wife passed him following the Potters. He had managed to make his way to one side at the back of the tented area.

When Hermione had left the silk pathway she made a beeline for him. Upon reaching him she threw her arms around him and gave him a hungry, lingering kiss on the lips. He wrapped her in his embrace and returned the kiss with as much, if not more (if that was even possible) fervor than Hermione. When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily from lack of oxygen intake. He had leaned down and was resting his forehead against hers. His arms were wrapped around her protectively and he never wanted to let her go again.

"I do believe we have to get back to the castle now." Hermione breathed tilting her head so that her cheek rested on his. "We have a party to attend, in part for our honor."

"You know how much I hate parties, Mrs. Snape." He admonished her, hissing the last bit into her ear seductively. Hermione found it hard to concentrate as she mulled over the meaning of her new title for a moment.

"Yes I do, Mr. Snape." She teased lightly. "But that is something I do believe might change now you have a dance partner." He huffed lightly, almost laughingly.

"You know wife, if I had known that you were going to endeavor to ruin my reputation for never going to a party, and if I did, only with a sour intent and no woman upon my arm, well, I do believe I would have thought longer about offering up my soul to you. What is an old Death Eater like me to do? I will have no respect in my classes anymore; people will think I have gone soft." He said in a tone of almost icy sarcasm covered in warm velvet. He also took the liberty of nibbling gently on her ear when he said this, causing Hermione's knees to get even shakier.

"I am sure you can still inflict the same amount of fear as always into the First Years." He whispered back. "They frighten easily enough, unlike me. I know that there is a kind man beneath what everyone sees, but I won't complain about some of your more solid points." She told him with a wicked little smile as she pressed closer to him and ran her hands along his back and down to his derriere.

"As for your reputation, seeing as we are the only ones still down here," she drew her head from his chest and looked around. "I believe it might be added to if we don't get up to the castle and at least make an appearance. Besides, the house elves have been working hard all week for this feast they have prepared. We can't disappoint them." She admonished him, laying a light kiss on his jaw line.

He had looked sharply down at her as she had decided to explore his rear with her hands. She had made some rather overt allusions to what was going to happen later, but he had expected he would be the one that was going to have to initiate things. It seemed that his Gryffindor wife would be quite a bit more forward than he had expected in that area as well. Not that he was going to complain about it.

"You are an insufferable know it all after all." He growled back.

"I'm not a know it all." She said airily, catching his touch of sarcasm. "I do have an insatiable curiosity, that's all. And what lies beneath the robes of my husband shall be a delightful learning experience and I would very much like to conduct some firsthand research in regards to activities beforehand inexperienced by me." She told him with a light blush to her cheeks and rubbed her hips suggestively against his.

"Minx." He hissed. After a moment it was Severus that drew away and caught her hand in his own. "Come Hermione," he said. "The last thing my reputation needs if for me to ravish my beautiful young wife before a proper meal and our first dance as husband and wife." He drew her along towards the castle. "But know that that won't save you after the meal." He told her.

"I would certainly hope not." She giggled as they swept up the lawn to rejoin the group that was nearly at the door of the castle by the time that they had decided to follow.

**A/N: well I hope that you all liked the chapter. You would not believe how hard it was to write. actually I think this was the hardest chapter to write as a whole, with the exception of the Devil Horse comment made by the house elf, that conversation went through more rewrites that I would like to admit! I wanted to write the weddings just right and make it all work with the phoenix and all. I have had part of this chapter written for a while, but it took me a while to actually finish it. Besides it is 14 pages in word (15 counting author's notes). Like I said before, I didn't know how long this chapter was going to take to write, but aren't you all glad that I got it done!?! I know I certainly am! **

**This is **_**not**_** the last chapter though, never fear, but it is very near the end, only one or two more chapters. Next chapter is going to be quite zesty, no that's not true, not a strong enough description…, ok fine cut the lemon in half and start eating it like a grapefruit. There that's better. Don't know how long it will take to write, school is hectic as ever and work is just exhausting. Who would like to give a 6-8 min speech for me in public speaking? Any takers…? What? No? oh well, can't say I didn't try. Sigh. **

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I just love your wonderful reviews. They keep me entertained and sane sometimes. As always I have to thank my awesome beta, skydancinghobbit for her input, guidance and support. She helps me have more confidence in what I write as I dance on (what I see as) the edge of what is in character and what isn't. I do whole heartedly suggest you go and read some of her stories. She has finished one so far and has a couple that are going right now. They are really awesome, (ok, fine I am just a bit bias as I am her beta). Just as a hint though, she writes her next chapter in response to the reviews she gets. So take pity on her beta! I want to know what happens next but only my urging isn't strong enough to pry another chapter out of her if she doesn't think it will get read! So if you read it and like what you have read, review, review, review! Please. **

**I would also like to thank those who replied to the question I posed last chapter; I have now wandered over to at least one of them and have found it to be quite acceptable. Thanks!**

**Don't know how long it will take for the next chapter to be up, but never fear it will not be abandoned! I am too close to the end and I usually finish what I start, so don't worry about that. thanks for all the support you have given me so far. until next posting- Dragons Quill**


	44. Midnight Concessions Part 1

**A/N: ok everybody, I had to break this chapter into a couple pieces since I had a good portion of it written, (stayed up till 4 in the morning one night, but I got this chunk done. I figured I would post it and my wonderful beta **skydancinghobbit **enjoyed it as well, once she had been handed a Prozac for my breaking of nearly every rule in ballroom dancing in the story. (I didn't have squished toes.) although she thought I kept him in character. I hope you all think so too. I know I promised lemons this chapter, but that comes in part 2 of the chapter (yet to be written), but that does not mean that I don't have a few saucy comments to top off the chapter. grin.**

**Once again, I must inform you of my short comings- I'm not JK Rowling or Jane Austen and I do not own Jack Sparrow either. Nuts. Ok, that out of the way, onto the chapie. **

_Midnight Concessions Part 1 _(44)

They made it back to the group just as they were entering the Great Hall. They were swept forward by the crowd along with the others to the head table to sit as they had at the other meals, although this meal promised to be different than the ones that had preceded it. This was a culmination of the day and the real after party of the marriages. The other meals had been merely provided because they were required for nutritional needs. This was going to be a big celebratory bash that was going to go long into the night. Severus was not looking forward to this party too much, he did not want to keep interacting with a whole group of people he was not interested in, when all he wanted to do was 'interact' with Hermione only.

The head table was covered with a long white table cloth and strings of peach/pink roses strung along the edge of the table. There were a few hundred candles burning above the head table, smaller guest tables, and positioned between the torches on the walls, casting a warm welcoming glow over the entire hall. Severus thought that Hermione practically glowed in the candlelight as she had removed the traditional robe that she had on, once again revealing her own wedding dress. The Great Hall ceiling was its usual charmed self, showing off the beautiful clear night sky, showing the assembly, if they had chosen to look up, a beautiful view of the Milky Way. Only Lupin looked up as a matter of habit, checking the moon's cycle. I had been about a week before that the full moon had come around; he would have nearly a full month before he would be locked away from Tonks for her own good.

The arrangement of the couples was the same as it had been during lunch, with the exception that Minerva was more than happy not to be caught between the two very anxious lovers, Harry and Ginny. The feast that the house elves had prepared was exceedingly scrumptious. There was ham, chicken and different cuts of beef to choose from as well as potatoes, gravy and a large array of vegetables, all fresh from the greenhouses. All in all it was the most amazing meal that any of them had had in a good while. After the food disappeared a large array of deserts appeared on a table set along one wall where everyone could get up and get their own (in lew of a gigantic wedding cake), as well as plates of munchies appeared on the tables to keep everyone well fed for as long as they decided to stay up and party.

As this happened the Weird Sisters took to the stage and began to play music. All the couples rose to their feet to the clapping encouragement of all the guests. Severus was more than happy to finally have a good excuse to hold Hermione, even though he would be dancing in front of people. He could always claim that the others were much more interested in the other couples dancing to pay much attention to him.

The first dance was for the newly married only. Severus led Hermione to the dance floor and then bowed formally, asking for a dance. He could not get over the old manners beat into him since nearly the time he could walk. Hermione accepted with a smile and found herself comfortably within his arms as a light hearted waltz floated though the air. He could not help himself and tilted his head down to graze her forehead with his lips.

"How much longer must we uphold this farce?" He asked in a low growl as he nuzzled her hair with his nose, floating gracefully across the dance floor avoiding the other two couples that did not seem to have the practiced ease that he brought to the dance. Only Lupin and Tonks could even come close, as they were both Purebloods and had some knowledge from the traditions.

"Afford me one more dance." She whispered back. "You can choose the song, I trust your judgment." She said with a smirk. "Then we can disappear, I also tire of this charade."

"Then why can't we disappear now?" He growled, sounding vaguely like a small child who did not get the answer he desired.

"We have to let the food settle." She whispered seductively. "Just like swimming you should wait a little bit after you eat. We don't want you or me to get a cramp, that would just not do." She could not help the almost foolish grin that spread across her face with that comment. He was only mildly shocked she would say such a thing, but he was quickly learning that his marriage had the potential to be extremely passionate if his wife had anything to say about it. He merely raised an eyebrow and allowed a smirk to touch his lips.

"Is that so? Very well then, I shall go request the next dance immediately. If it is another dance you desire, than it is another dance you shall have witch. But know this; I will expect that I won't have to do any more persuading when we are done with this dance. I would be safe in assuming that you know other forms of ballroom dancing as well." He told her with a slight incline of his head in her direction and an intractable look on his face that made her tremble slightly where she stood, and not out of fear. She nodded with a smile.

"Good. You will wait here." He told her and swept away towards the stage leaving Hermione to stand alone in the middle of the dance floor wondering what he was going to demand (He never requested anything… well… almost nothing.). She stood almost apprehensively as he came back with a quiet smirk on his face and a heavy slow drum beat began behind him as he walked towards her from across the room. The candles behind him flickered slightly uncertainly, but did not go out, as if there was a breeze, but she knew better. She knew he was calling upon all his will power to stay relatively indifferent and keep himself from possibly ravishing her in front of those assembled.

He paused to stand with his back ramrod straight, one foot resting slightly ahead of the other, about two feet away from where she stood as he had left her. She stood watching him with interest as he let his eyes wander over her figure and settle onto her face. His eyes were burning with desire, passion and she could see a desire that he wanted to put her 'in her place' for making him wait and dance another song before he swept her away.

She did have to admit that it had been rather cruel, especially after making him wait practically all day to get his hands on her. It had been part of the plan to keep herself away from her new husband as long as possible. She had expected that she would have been marrying one of the boys originally on the list. She had absolutely no desire to be anywhere near any of them, at least not in the way that she knew they would all want, as soon as they could. She figured if she spent as much of the time after they were married away from them that it would have made it easier to bear the burden.

But then Severus surprised him by actually coming forward and petitioning for her hand. It may have been nearly an 11th hour petition, but it had fit the bill and she had willingly and happily accepted him. Now the stress of being away from him all day was defiantly showing in him and in her. She wanted nothing more than to be whisked away as he quite obviously wanted to do. But she still had her Gryffindor pride. She would not be so easily led. He was going to have to put out some effort.

Besides, she had only had a chance to enjoy one dance with him before they were married and now only one after. She figured the she would use her 'leverage', as Jack Sparrow would say, to her greatest advantage. She wanted to dance with her husband and feel the strength and sensation of being desired in his arms. She also wanted to see into his character as a dancer beyond the attentive and almost reverent waltzes they had shared so far. What dance would he choose, and what would be her role in the dance?

She may not have recognized the song that had a decidedly Celtic twist to it (see author's notes for song reference), but she recognized his stance. It was without question a dance that she had not expected him to offer up, the Rumba. It was the closest thing to sex you could get on the dance floor and still keep everything 'clean', though such a distinction was still up for interpretation. Well if that is the way that he wanted to play it, then two could play that game. She was more sly Slytherin than she let on, even though most only saw her as the lioness of the Gryffindor house.

She smiled lightly and took in his forward stance and after a brief locking of eyes and a slight smirk from herself she looked away towards an upper corner of the Great Hall in a light rebuff, a playful smile teasing her lips. He wasn't going to have her melting into his arms immediately, at least not this early in the dance. If he was going to tempt her so greatly with such a passionate dance, then he was definitely going to have to do better than a once over and lifted eyebrow. She heard as the large baritone drums beat out the rhythm and a pair of fiddles joined in along with a lowly pitched flute. She heard as he lightly tisked her and she saw his shadow move out of the corner of her eye. She felt as his breath brushed her shoulder ever so gently. He had snaked a hand around her waist to rest over her stomach.

"It would not be wise witch to rebuff your partner." He told her in a husky growled whisper beside her ear that made her tremble. "You may give the impression that you don't want to dance." He leaned in and took a deep breath of her scent and was surprised as he felt her forehead beneath his lips.

"Now Severus, when have you known me to do anything miss leading?" She asked him innocently as she shimmied herself back with the beat, her hips rocking back and forth seductively, closing the gap between them and feeling the soft velvet of his robes against her shoulders and ran her hand over his. After a scant second of closeness she grasped his fingers with her own and spun out of his embrace to face him at arm's length, seeing his desire and frustrated filled eyes.

It was obvious the dance was not going according to his plan and it was only the first few stanzas of the song. He pulled back slightly on her fingers and she allowed herself to be drawn towards him, twirling beneath his arm for one and a half revolutions when he broke hand contact and she stopped, unable to see him behind her again. She could feel as he side stepped to circle her like an ocean predator evaluating the edibility of a morsel that floated through his domain, flowing with the beat of the music pulsing around them. As he circled around to the front he stopped and took a step forward so that they were nearly flush with each other. She looked up with a touch of defiance in her eyes, but a great deal of desire, for both him and to see if she could push him to dance from his heart and not from his teachings.

"You Madame Snape, said one more dance. But now you refuse to dance with me? What am I to think?" He asked in a hushed whisper as he leaned to plant a delicate kiss on the juncture of her neck and collar bone. "I am beginning to believe that you are quite the flirt. How ever shall we fix this?" He smirked as she gently pushed him back with her hand to his chest and with a great sweeping motion of her skirts, flowed and circling around him, her hand running lightly up his arm and across his shoulders, leaving a line of fire in his skin beneath her touch.

"Now, now Mr. Snape." She admonished lightly. "You of all peoples should know the untamable nature of a Gryffindor." She ran her hand along his arm towards his other hand. He grabbed her wrist as she lingered over his and pulled her close, wrapping his hand around her waist and keeping her hand in his as he stepped her back, their bodies flush, feeling her hand brand his shoulder as she griped it.

"Untamable is only a label that people give to something they cannot obtain, and to something that has never been done before, because the right person had yet to come along. No man had been able to tame you yet only because you have desired them not, but I suspect that you are as untamable as your stallion, wife." He literally purred in a smooth warm baritone in her ear, similar to when he talked to the horses. She felt her knees go weak as they traveled across the dance floor, following his lead.

"Don't use that voice, not here." She breathed, her eyes closed, basking in the warmth and love in his voice.

"Why?" He asked, a touch of hurt moving to the edge of his voice, obviously perplexed as she said one thing with her lips and her body was literally screaming the opposite.

"I want to be able to keep my dignity and walk from the hall under my own power." She breathed. He relaxed again and smirked.

"It is unwise to tell a Slytherin your weaknesses young Gryffindor, they will find a way to use them against you." He purred into her ear, loving the sound of the catch he caused in her breath. With this she halted the dance and looked him in the eye with a gleam that caused him to bite back a groan, her face flushed and she was nearly panting.

She then pushed against him, asking to lead the dance, and to his own surprise he relented and allowed her a step and then another, until they were going back in the direction that they had come. "A weakness," she purred back. "Is only an underused strength. I do so hope that you will help me turn my weakness in a much used strength in the future." She gave him a smirk with a hungry look in her eyes. He stopped and she twirled out on his arm and then back again to be enveloped in his arms, letting him take the lead once again.

"You do know that my dance instructor would be having a heart attack at all the rules we have broken tonight in this dance." He growled as she ran her hand from his shoulder to his back.

"I would have thought you would have learned by now that I only follow the rules when it is to the greatest advantage to myself." She purred and managed to plant a soft kiss on his jaw line.

"Are you sure you aren't a Slytherin? The sorting hat could have gotten it wrong." He asked her with a light chuckle. "At least now as your husband I can benefit from your wayward ways instead of having to clean up after them as I did when you were a student."

"Stranger things have happened, but I must say that I know I am much more the Gryffindor lioness than I am a Slytherin snake; I had to be brave enough to knowing break about a hundred school rules ever year. And I had to be brave enough to stand for you in court, although I was not breaking any rules at the time." He spun her out on his arm and then back again, winding her in his arms so that she faced away from him as the song ended with one final baritone drum beat.

"And for that I am grateful." He conceded as he nuzzled her ear with his nose, caressing her earlobe with just the tip of his tongue. "Now wife, the song has ended."

"So it has." She said as she twisted away to look at him at nearly arms length. "I do believe I have properly digested, how about you?" He gave her a long suffering look and she smiled. "Then I do believe it is time I do some research that cannot be done at a party." She smiled even wider and led him by the hand towards the door of the Great Hall. They passed Ginny and Harry briefly. "I will see you guys later," she breathed to Ginny. "Just have whoever leaves last beg our goodbyes, but I suspect this crowd can find their own beds. I know I will."

"Be gone." Ginny said with a flushed giggle. "I hope to abandon this place shortly as well and good luck." Ginny gave her a quick hug that Hermione returned.

Then Hermione turned back to Severus and grabbed his hand and nodded towards the door. He was more than happy to comply with her idea. Once they had gotten out of the Great Hall he stopped and pulled her towards him, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. He had one hand on the nape of her neck while the other rested in the small of her back. She had wrapped her arms around him as well.

"Do you talk as a rule while dancing?" He couldn't help but ask as they came up for air.

"Dance with me more often and you will find out the answer." She replied. "But that is not what I want to discuss right now." She admitted with a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Good," he growled, "neither do I."

**I know! (blocks various objects thrown my way with garbage can lid.) I know I didn't give you guys any lemons, but they all come next chapter (**_**katang! **_**HA you missed! **_**Splat!**_** Looks like I spoke to soon…**

**Ok any way as for the music that goes with the dance I know I listened to Michael Flattely, Feet of Flames- Warriors video clip. Very good music and had the beat I was looking for. while your there also type in Alan Rickman + tango. Lets just say it is very, very nice! **

**I know a lot of you were wondering about Emerald and why and how she got to be in the story. that was actually likely be the only time you will see her in this fic, but she is here for a very good reason. She is part of the set up for a sequel. Before you all get excited I must say that it will definitely be a while before it will be written, have to finish this first, and then there are some definite plot elements missing from my sequel's skeleton so I have to sit on the idea a while and wait to see what hatches. I can tell you though that the sequels name will most likely be Raising Phoenix. **

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and please review! I just love to hear what you all think and even appreciate the reviews from people who don't like it. I know I get lots and lots of hits, but comparatively few reviews. anyway, thanks to my wonderful beta **_skydancinghobbit_**, who was my long suffering 'dance consultant' and helped set me on the correct path to find the music I wanted. She has some neat stuff she is writing too including a new one that ties in with the phantom of the opera. Very good, even if it is her beta saying it. I also have a second fic that I posted about a month ago that's done, a short little humor/romance fic that involves everyone's favorite meddling headmaster (obviously not hbp compatible). **

**I should go into the advertising business, oh well, thanks for reading, hope you all enjoyed what I have so far. Until I post again (don't know how long it will be). –Dragons Quill (big smiley and hugs all around)**


	45. Midnight Concessions Part 2

**A/N: hey everybody!!! Look I finally got it posted!!! Yea!!! I hope you all will think it was worth the wait. Just as a formality, this chapter has lemons! See I told you I would deliver them. grin. Anyway, I suppose I should probably, as a formality say 'shoo' to anyone who isn't mature enough to read it. if you continue it is not my fault, only yours. there, that way you can't come after me if you read something you don't like. Ha. So now that is out of the way, I will just get out of the way and let you all read the chappie! Enjoy! **

_Midnight Concessions- Part 2 _(45)

"Come." Severus said after another moment of holding her close in the room behind the staff entrance. He pulled her towards one of the many doors in the room, fire in his eyes. Hermione was done playing games for the night. She wanted to jump him just as bad as it seemed that he wanted to jump her. He lead her down a narrow hallway that lead to a winding set of stairs, straight down into the bowels of the castle, towards his, their rooms. She could hardly suppress a nervous, excited giggle that bubbled up from her soul.

Severus, who was never known to be one to be seen running anywhere, was pulling her along at nearly a run, which she was more than happy to accommodate. Within a few minutes they were bursting out from behind a statue of a cobra in the strike position in the dungeons, only a few hundred feet from his chamber door. Severus rather hastily, but still with a practiced motion, removed some of the more powerful Wards that kept his door hidden from view. Then he pulled Hermione up close to the door with him.

"Rest your hand on the door." He said, panting from the exertion of nearly sprinting down two flights of stairs and a few hundred feet of corridor with Hermione in tow. She did not question him, but placed her hand against the dark, aged, cool wood of the chamber door. Severus spoke a few muttered charms while his hand rested beside hers and modified his Wards to allow her access. Though his modifications were only going to be temporary, when they had more time they were going to recast his Wards anew to accept Hermione's magical signature.

The door swung open beneath their touch and Severus turned to draw her across the threshold, but she hesitated. "It is tradition; at least in the muggle world that a bride is carried over the threshold the first time she and her husband enter into their new joint home." She looked at him with both a question and request.

"Very well." He said huskily. "I suppose that it would certainly not hurt anything." He swept himself around so that he stood behind Hermione and ran his hand down the back of her neck, reveling in the softness of her skin there. Hermione arched herself into his hand, enjoying his gentle and warm, soothingly exciting touch. Severus then reached down and managed to sweep her into his arms as she threw her arms around his neck.

He carried her through their chamber doors, the door swinging shut and the Wards resolidifying behind them. Severus decided that he was going to circumvent any more muggle traditions that would include him picking his wife up again, as he already had her. He carried her all the way to the opposite door that Hermione had only guessed was his bedroom. She had been right.

He put her feet back on the ground beside the bed and grunted a command into the air. A fire blazed to life in the hearth along the wall opposite his bed, the footboard facing the flames. His bed was a queen sized four-poster with heavy, velvety green curtains. There were green silk sheets on the bed and a lighter comforter of green silk as well, with a large silver snake embroidered in the center of the comforter.

On the same wall where the door that they had just come in were a pair of wardrobes and dressers, presumably one for her now, as her trunk sat in front of one of the dressers. Along that same wall was another door that led to the bathroom. The far wall was also bookcases, with books stacked tightly into every inch of available space. And on the floor was a thick piled, dark forest green throw rug, at least on the side of the bed she was now on.

"You have no idea what a joy it is to have you here in my bedroom." He whispered, as he ran his hand along her check. "How my dreams have tormented me with things I thought I could never have; with dreams of you willingly in my bed with me. I always believed I would die a lonely and bitter man, all alone. But now you are here, and I find such a thought hard to believe." He caught her lips in an unhurried, passionate kiss. Now that they were alone and no one was going to disturb them he found that the urgency he had felt before had subsided.

"Your dreams are not the only ones to be a torment." She sighed. "I never imagined that you would let me into your bed, much less your heart." She admitted. I can honestly tell you that I have not had a week where my sleep wasn't disturbed at least once, ever since we began training the horses, your voice calling out to me in my sleep. Although I must admit I was attracted to you before that.

The best night's sleep I have ever had was the night I feel asleep in your arms on the couch. I can also admit that those summer days where you took off your coat and unlaced the top of your shirt came before the most tormenting dreams. I do hope such things can be put to rest soon."

"If you are expecting a full night's sleep tonight, then you are mistaken witch." He murmured beside her ear where he was nibbling the soft skin just below her jaw.

"Good." She replied. "I do expect to sleep well in the end though. I don't want to live on dreams anymore, I want the real thing." A deep growl of arousal issued from his lips as he heard her speak. He felt a definite stirring within him that he had tried to keep at bay for far too long.

He looked at her questioningly as she gently pushed against his chest, making him stand away from her. She answered his question by running her hands along the planes of his chest through his robes. "You have had all the fun so far." She said with a seductive smirk. "You are far too overdressed Severus, and I plan to change that."

She then ran her hands up to his throat and began to unbutton the innumerable line of buttons along his front. He closed his eyes with a small smile as she worked her way down his front and he helped her by undoing the buttons at his cuffs. He finished before her and could not resist the allure of her lips as they were slightly pursed in her conquering of the buttons.

He gave her a passionate kiss as she finished with the buttons and she pushed his robes off his shoulders to land in a pool of dark velvet behind him. He moaned as she ran her hands down his front again, her hands leaving trails of fire where she touched him. He reached up and began to remove the flowers and pins from her hair so that it fell down onto her bare shoulders. He ran his hand through her locks and down to the top of her dress in the back, feeling the line of buttons that kept her contained.

"It would seem that I am not the only ones with a lot of buttons today." He chuckled against her throat as he traveled from her lips to the pulse point where her neck joined her body. He began to pop each mother of pearl button from its loop, loosening the bodice of her dress as he descended.

"My mother was a traditionalist." She sighed as his lips suckled the hollow above her collar bone. Her hands straying across his shoulders and up the back of his neck before descending again.

He worked his way swiftly along the line of buttons with a practiced motion and letting a hand slip under the fabric and feeling her smooth warm skin beneath. He gently stroked her back with his thumb, feeling her melt against him. She was also working her magic upon him. She had her hands splayed out across his chest, branding him like hot fire and her lips were tracing a path along his jaw line. She had paused at the pulse point just below his jaw, nearly causing his knees to buckle. He could not help the groaning moan that had escaped his lips as she lingered. He felt as she smirked against him.

He finished unbuttoning her, but to his frustration the dress stayed up, although the reason was not objectionable as she had molded herself to his body. Nudging her away as he nuzzled first her shoulders and then blazed a trail of kisses lower towards her chest. Hermione was lost in the wonderful feel of his kisses as she let the dress fall away. She could not help the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips as he carefully explored her exposed body. She had brought her hands up from his chest to tangle in his hair, removing the ribbon and letting his raven hair hang free.

"You are a beautiful goddess." She heard him sigh. "You are the most perfect woman I have ever laid my eyes on."

"Even though I'm a know it all?" She couldn't help but ask, her insecurities surfacing even as Severus made her feel that she was the most beautiful he had ever seen.

"Beauty comes in many forms." He purred pulling back and looking her in the eyes. "You are brilliant and you stimulate my mind with yours, and you are beautiful and I want nothing more than to keep you in my bed forever and never let you go. You are everything I have ever hoped to find in a woman. One of brains and of untold beauty. You came and you have fulfilled that dream and made it a dream no longer.

I may have said some cruel things to you in the past. But believe me Hermione, I wish I could have spared you those comments. But seeing the position I was in, I chose what I thought was right at the time." He kissed her passionately again, possessing her mouth and trying to convey his love and regret for ever insulting her. "I love you dearly Hermione and don't let yourself or anyone else lead you to believe otherwise." He caught her lips in another kiss.

Hermione smiled and ran her fingers along his scalp, gaining a light groan of approval. Running her hand along his neck she gripped the back of his shirt a bit lower than his shoulders. She bunched the fabric in her hands as her husband's talented hands swept across her chest and blazed a fiery brand along her hip. Deciding through her pleasure induced haze that she did not want to be the only one who was very near naked she began to work the hem of his shirt out of his pants and towards his head. He did not seem to notice until she had the hem of his shirt at his shoulders, attempting to pull it over his head. In surprise he pulled back from her chest and she managed to haul the shirt over his head before he could stand up.

"Hermione." He said in a husky, almost panicked voice. "I…Do you really want to see…?" His voice caught in his throat in fear and sadness.

"Yes Severus, I want to see you, all of you. What are you so worried about?" She asked, worried about his reaction. She had managed to pull the shirt completely off of him and he stood before her rigid and slightly hunched, holding his left arm close to his body. Scanning his posture she realized that he was probably worried about her reaction to the Dark Mark.

She had only ever seen it on a couple of the other Death Eaters' marks when they had gone to trial, but she had never seen his. "Oh Severus." She sighed as she reached out for him and gently took worried face into her hands and brought him into a passionate kiss, gently nibbling his bottom lip and enticing a low growl from him. She ran her hands along his chest and his right arm came to tangle in her hair.

She let her hands wander down farther towards his left arm that he still had held against his abs as if he would never move it again. With one hand she gently took his hand and took his wrist in the other. He had a sharp worried intake of breath as she did.

"I…" He began.

"Shhh..." She cooed next to his lips. "It is alright. I want to see it. It is part of you, who you were, who you have left behind, who you are now." She gently ran her hand up his forearm, gently messaging the tense muscles beneath his warm skin, feeling them relax beneath her touch. She stepped back from him slightly as she brought his arm up and away from his body, turning his inner arm up so that she could see the old Dark Mark, though she could tell he did so reluctantly. She looked down at the silvery grey scar that was etched into his forearm and reached out tenderly with her fingers to touch it. She seemed almost transfixed by it, a slight frown touching her lips as she did.

Severus watched as she frowned at the Dark Mark while she fingered it. He did not want to cause her distress so he spoke in barely a whisper, for that is all the voice he could muster. "I can cover it back up. I can always cast a glamour if it upsets you." He was still vaguely worried that upon seeing the disfiguring scars that she would realize her mistake and leave him an even more broken man.

"No." She said softly. "It is part of you, part of your past. I cannot ask you to hide who you are from me. I do not want that to ever happen. I love you for who you are, not someone you feel you need to act to be. You yourself said that beauty comes in many forms. Even though this was originally an ugly brand of an evil and deranged wizard, the fact that you endured so much while carrying it and betraying Voldemort makes this into a badge of your courage, your power and your love. You are the bravest man that I know and the most handsome, don't let anyone, even yourself, try to convince you otherwise." She kissed his scar with tender lips as he drew in a surprised and comforted breath as she looked him in the eyes, telling him without words that she accepted him unconditionally. Reaching out with his right hand he cupped her face and drew her in for a passion filled kiss that expressed his love and gratitude for her acceptance in a way that he could never hope to in words. Drawing her close he could not help but give a growl of even greater arousal as he held her close.

Hermione let her eyes and hands wander across his chest feeling the frenzied beating of his heart. She could feel the sculpted muscles beneath his skin and realized that he was a powerhouse of muscle. He was not built like some muscle builder, but one who was strong from years of working. Slivery scars crisscrossed his chest in places and stood out against the paleness of his skin and the black of his trousers. Gently fingering one of the scars she looked up at him with pain in her eyes. "Do they hurt?" She asked quietly.

"Not anymore." He assured her. "And I can guarantee that if you continue your search you will find many more." He said quietly.

"I wish that you didn't have to endure the pain that they caused you. Some are far older than the Voldemort Wars." She sighed.

"How do you know that?" He asked stunned that she could discern that some were from his childhood, his father's rage.

"I learned a lot when I helped in the Ward after a few of the smaller battles. A few of the mediwitches had time to tell me how to discern how old a scar was and if there could be anything done to repair the damage beneath them. Some of the scars I can see are far older than perhaps even me." She looked up into his eyes. "You really have not had very many role models for love, have you?"

"No, I have not." He said sadly. "But I don't wish to think of that right now." He told her.

"I am still sorry anyway." She whispered and laid a kiss upon his chest, on a particularly old scar. Then she ran her hands down lower towards his waist and wrapped her arms around him, lightly tracing a pattern along the curve of his butt. He could barely stifle a groan at the sensation it sent straight to his loins. Hermione snaked her hands back to the front of his pants to fumble with his belt buckle watching as his eyes drifted closed as she released the belt, letting his pants fall to the floor to join the rest of their clothing.

She could not resist her desire and gently reached out to caress him, making his knees feel weak. Quickly he reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, stilling her movements.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked in a worried tone as he grasped her wrist in a fierce grip.

"No." He breathed out hoarsely. "Far from it." His eyes were still closed and he was having trouble breathing. "I believe we need to get in bed or I very well may fall down if you do that again."

"Not yet." She said with a smile as she extracted her arm from his hand. She leaned down and took her wand from the garter she was wearing half way up her calf. She then muttered a quick spell while pointing at her feet and then his, releasing them from their shoes. Then she put her wand with his on the closest night stand without moving.

When she was done he reached out and picked her up again. Laying her on the bed before him he climbed in after her as she scooted towards the center of the bed. Climbing over her he gave her a passionate kiss as she stroked his chest, her hand traveling farther down. Groaning he broke the kiss, breathing out her name as if it was a prayer. Reaching out she took the band of his boxers into her hands and dragged them over his hips. He helped her by flicking off the offending piece of cloth once it had been pushed nearly to his knees. With a soft gasp she looked at him as he knelt beside her and then back up at his face.

"Are you scared?" He asked quietly as he saw her eyes widen at the sight of him in all his glory.

"A little apprehensive, but not scared." She breathed. "I have never actually seen such view ever." She carefully reached out and touched him as Severus held his breath.

After a moment he could take it no more and he once again moved her hand away. "It is time that you were unveiled as well." He said in a hushed tone. He hooked his fingers under her underwear band and drew them off of her legs. He viewed her in the flickering firelight, laid out in all her glory, skin flushed with an aroused blush. Climbing between her legs he kissed his way up from her chest to her mouth.

"You are so beautiful. I want nothing more than to sink into you and loose myself." He whispered.

"Don't wait." She sighed as he hovered over her. She could feel his heat rolling off of him in waves, so close to where she wanted him to be and yet still so very far away. His hands cupped her hips, his thumbs rubbing sensual circles at the very edges of her curls. Running her hands down his sides to his butt she gently pulled on him to bring him closer. Nibbling on her neck he acquiesced and she gasped in pleasure as he moved close to her. He had to bite lip but a groan still escaped. "Please." She pleaded.

"I don't want to hurt you." He whispered. "I love you too much to hurt you intentionally."

"I know and I love you." She sighed as he twitched again, his body tensing above hers in desperate desire to enter her. "But I must have you Severus. I cannot go any longer without feeling you within me. I need you."

"I need you too." His voice was thick with need and desire. He could hardly believe how beautiful Hermione was beneath him, moving towards him in need and desire. It was something he had never believed possible. She was offing herself to him, not because she had to, not because it was her duty, but because she wanted him because he was himself. She was his woman, willing to share his bed, his heart and bear his children. He had never felt such a loving desire for anyone, protectiveness and thankfulness to any other person. He knew that he had already lost himself to her and that he no longer cared about anything or anyone but her.

He could not take it anymore and he stilled himself against her. He could feel that she was ready for him as he reached up and kissed her fiercely. "Are you ready?" He whispered. Hermione nodded with a strangled gasp as she felt him settle above her. Then with a quick thrust he buried himself in her, gasping at the intimate clutch she held him in. Beneath him she had let out a small shriek of pain and pleasure as he had ripped cleanly through her virginity and felt him fill her to the hilt.

"I'm sorry." He breathed in her ear with a kiss of apology. "Please forgive me."

"I can assure you there is nothing to forgive." She sighed. "I never expected my first time to be painless, but I can say that I am sure you will soothe the ach." She caught his lips in a heated kiss as they lay still, each adjusting to the other.

After a moment he began to move in the age old dance of a man and woman, her eyes fluttering closed with a smile on her face. She breathed his name and tasted it on her lips with a sigh as he drove into her again. He was beginning to lose himself in her, not know where he ended and she began anymore and he couldn't get enough of that feeling.

All too soon he felt as she clamped down around him and thrust herself up to meet him. Feeling her clutch him he roared her name in ecstasy as the fire that was burring in him shot through him and out into her willing body. He had never felt anything so wonderful or exhausting in his life as he collapsed nearly on top of her.

Rolling with him, Hermione allowed him to stay with her as their bodied began to cool in the darkening dungeons. She had never felt the joy and ecstasy herself of the wonderful impaling presence of a man and the warmth that flooded her when he had finished. Felling him still within her as they rolled to lie beside each other was a feeling of elation and total connectedness that she had never before felt with anyone.

"I love you so much." She whispered nuzzling her way into his chest and planting a soft kiss there.

"I love you too." Severus sighed, spent from pleasuring his wife. He used what little energy he had left to wandlessly draw back the sheets and then settle them beneath the warm silk as the fire in the hearth burned down to embers. Snuggling beneath the covers he nuzzled the top of her head and held her close as she gripped him back. "You are my beautiful, wonderful, loving wife and I will never ever let you go or let harm come to you. You are mine." He planted a soft kiss on the crown of her head.

"Good, because now you're stuck with me." She sighed and he could feel as she smiled against his chest.

With that they both drifted off to sleep in the comfort of each other's arms.

**A/N: Ok I hope you all liked it, it is version 3.5. I know not many rewrites you all say, well I beg to differ. For me it's a lot. I like to only put down stuff that I like and that will progress the story. proved a real problem way back in chapter 29. That little Devil Horse conversation went through like 6 rewrites. Oh well you all got Meddling 101 out of that little rut I felt that I was in. and you all benefited from this little 'dry spell' as well with Failure to Bake. **

**Anyways, thanks goes to my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit who without question saved me from the censors. That explains the .5 portion of the rewrite. She got to see version 3. she read it turned to me said 'wow, that was very good. There is no way you can post that! at least not and keep your account.' So taking my beta's advice you get what you see now. but seeing as what I started with, we believe that it turned out quite well. I just hope you all enjoyed it and don't think it was too much. **

**don't know when the next chapter will be up mainly due to the fact that I have this scheduling nightmare in real life and I don't think it is going to get better anytime soon. I just hope that all of my different jobs can decide when they want me so that I can get it all straight before my head explodes!!! **

**Anyways, please reviews guys, I would love to know what you all thought of my first real smut scene. I tend to be rather insecure about this sort of thing. **


	46. Early Morning Light

**A/N: Hey everybody, thanks for the reviews and support for my first lemon, it is really appreciated. This chapter took a little while cause I wasn't quite sure what to follow it up with, but with a little prompting from my beta and some time to sit and think about it, I got you this. Hope you all like it. **

_Early Morning Light _(46)

Unlike popular belief that the Potions maser lived in the deepest darkest part of the dungeons with any and all windows that may or may not have been in his rooms would have the curtains drawn tight against the world. This was not entirely the case. Yes he lived in the dungeons, and yes for the most part he tried to keep the small windows in his chambers closed, but the darn house elves had that annoying quality about them that lead them to believe that they knew what was best for their charges as they were 'incapable' of caring for themselves. They would daily fling open his windows to air out his bedchambers and leave the curtains open to let in light, even after they had closed the glass.

It wasn't that he didn't like the early morning light, far from it. When he had the chance he enjoyed stalking the fading shadows of the early morning twilight. He thought it was perhaps the most beautiful time of day; everything was fresh and new, ready for the day to come. What he didn't like was being quite suddenly blasted by sunlight out of his nice comfortable dark corner of his rest. So it had become part of his nightly routine to close the curtains every night ever since he had been given his rooms nearly twenty years before. He had always made sure that the curtains were closed before he got into bed; it was something he did quite religiously, no matter how he was feeling.

That is why his still sleep fogged mind could not comprehend why he was being assaulted by a rather rude beam of far too cheerful sunlight. With a groan of displeasure and not opening his eyes, he gave the comforter over him a tug, but found it trapped by something. So with an even harder tug he loosened it from whatever was holding it and rolled over, burying his head beneath the relinquished comforter.

Hermione had been having one of the most wonderful dreams she had had in a long time. She stirred slightly as the sun caressed her face as it did every morning and she turned her face slightly to allow it to fall on her but not to affect her sleeping anymore. She wanted to stay in her dream world for as long as she could because it was so magnificent.

Quite suddenly and she thought rather rudely, the comforter corner she was cuddling was suddenly tugged and pulled nearly out of her grip the same time she heard a distinctively masculine groan. She was startled awake by these events, unsure of their origin. Her eyes flew open and she took in her surroundings just as the comforter was ripped from her grasp and she was left very much exposed to the cool dungeon air, as she was very much without clothing. With a slight gasp and curling up upon herself, she felt a dull ache between her thighs and saw the unfamiliar bed she was lying in. Glancing down at her hand she saw the beautiful engagement ring and the wedding band nestled beside it. The events of the night before came flooding back to her and she smiled, blushing slightly, even as the cool air of the room raised goose-bumps on her now fully exposed body. Rolling over onto her back, expecting to see Severus she instead was greeted by a large Severus sized pile of comforter.

Well that answered the question of 'What happened to the comforter?'. Unable to help herself she lifted a questioning eyebrow and a smile crept onto her face. It seemed her new husband was not a morning person. She sat up and reaching out she grabbed hold of the stolen comforter and gave it a tug, but it would not come free.

"Severus." She called. "Give it back, don't be such a blanket hog, I'm cold." She did manage however to dislodge the part that had been resting over his face, revealing his face to the 'evils' of early morning sunlight again. This resulted in her getting a squinted, scowling death glare for a second.

Severus' brain had been slowly coming back on line as it enjoyed its lovely state of darkness again. He could not understand why he had been met with resistance on the first tug. His mind also wandered back to wondering about why the window was still open in the first place. Something major must have happened to him for him not to follow the normal nightly routine. Just as this thought was surfacing and beginning to tickle the memories of the night before, he was suddenly assaulted by the light again, and at the same time hearing the voice of an angel speak to him from the other side of his bed.

"Severus. Give it back, don't be such a blanket hog, I'm cold."

His knee jerk reaction was to give whoever or whatever owned that beautiful voice a very nasty 'you must die now' look that should have withered them, even though he was squinting. But as he looked up he saw Hermione looking down at him mildly amused and a light blush to her cheeks that he believed made even that much more attractive. With the face recognition came all the memories of the night before, flooding him with a feeling of excitement and happiness. Taking the glare off his face and replacing it with a genuine smile of deep seated happiness, he reached up and gently stroked her cheek with his hand, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his hand and the way she leaned into him, as if he was making sure that she was really still there, still his.

"You stole the blanket." She said with a smile, but questioning eyebrow. "I believe we will have to get the house elves to bring me down my red comforter so we can both have one." Severus snorted at that. "Well it is chilly down here in the dungeons, and if you insist upon stealing my side of it then I shall fly my house colors in rebellion." She grinned almost evilly.

"Silly Gryffindor." He huffed, running his hand along her neck and throat. He had sat up in bed, the comforter falling down to pool in his lap. Hermione scooted up to sit closer to him and could not help it as she reached out rest her hand on his chest, feeling the muscles flex beneath her touch. "Always too bold for your own good." He smirked as he drew her towards him and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "Besides, red would clash horribly with my chamber's color scheme." Hermione couldn't help but snicker at that.

"So it seems Mrs. Snape that we will just have to find another way to get you warmed up again." He reached out and gave her waist a gentle tug. He coaxed her towards him until he had her seated in his lap, facing him and her legs straddling his hips. "How is that?" He purred from her neck. "Are you feeling any warmer yet my dear?" Hermione could do little more than groan as she leaned her head back and tangled her hands in his hair. Severus smirked and continued to devour his wife. She groaned again in appreciation as parts other than his hands and mouth showed interest in helping her get warm again, even though she was already becoming quite hot and flushed already. She had absolutely no problem with his unspoken suggestion and agreed with him, giving her hips a suggestive wiggle against his.

Needless to say, the newlyweds did not make it to the Great Hall for breakfast. To be perfectly honest most people didn't make it to the Great Hall for breakfast. Although for the guests it was more of a function of too much alcohol and not enough sleep, while for all three couples it was more of a 'previously occupied' state that kept them away.

After Severus had sufficiently warmed up Hermione, it was decided that a shower would be in order. Although the original 'noble' thought of 'conserving' time and water seemed negated by the actual length of time that they spent together in the shower.

When they had both been sufficiently cleansed and dressed, they ate brunch on a conjured table in front of the fireplace.

"So Severus…" Hermione asked as they leisurely ate. "What were your plans for the summer? Were you going to be continuing your work on the Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin? Can I help?"

Severus looked across the table at his glowing wife with a cocked eyebrow, holding back a smirk. "Now, now Miss Granger, I still refuse to call on you even with your hand waving in the air and your rear barely touching your bench seat. You must let the other dunderheads try to answer the questions. The whole point is for them to learn something." He told her in his sternest teaching voice. Hermione managed to hold back a smile while looking shocked and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I would be careful Miss Granger; it would do you no good to offer me such a valuable Potions ingredient when I am sure you will still need it at a later date." He smirked as she looked genuinely shocked for a moment before she started to laugh. He also could not hold a straight face and added his deep melodic baritone chuckle to her laugh.

"So, really are you going to be working on the Potion again?" She asked as she caught her breath from laughing so hard.

"Yes I will be." He said, admiring the flush that had accompanied her bout of laughing. "And yes you can help, but on one condition dear wife." He told her.

"And what would that condition be dear husband?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"That you show me the Wards that you used on your door." He told her. "I have never seen such a beautiful and complex mix of subtlety and power."

"Will I get to know the password to the lab?"

"Of course, we are married, what is mine is yours for the most part."

"The most part?"

"Well everyone has to have their secrets."

"Just as long as they aren't something that could tear a hole in my heart if I discover them. If that is the case I would very much like to know about them now at the beginning so that I don't feel betrayed if I uncover them on my own."

"I don't believe that any of them are that serious. Normally I would say otherwise, but the fact alone that you know what I did, from seeing it in the pensieves and then what I told you a few days ago, I don't think that there is much else to tell that would tear your heart apart. Well, I am sure that if you were to look into my memories as see those experiences 'first hand' that it would be different, but I do not intend to let anyone see those memories, they are burden enough for me to bear. I will not burden you with such things."

"I understand and I thank you for that, and don't have anything of that nature floating around in my past. Well… with the exception of the War, but then again everyone has something in their closets they would rather not think about because of the War. So do we have an accord?" She smiled and offered her hand across the table.

"Well…" He lingered taking her hand across the table and rising to his feet. "I suppose we could, but we would have to seal the deal somehow." He pulled her to her feet and held her close, cupping her face in his hands. Leaning down he first brushed his lips on hers and then took her bottom lip into his mouth to nibble it. "That should seal it I believe, at least for now." He smirked when they finally surfaced for oxygen again.

"You may have been a spy for the Order." She sighed. "But I do believe that you also are quite the thief as well. You first steal my heart and then you don't miss any opportunity to steal a kiss."

"Well, a spy has to earn a living somehow." He smirked, nuzzling her ear. Hermione smiled. "I think we should probably adjourn to the lab and get something done today. I suspect the Hospital wing will be quite low on hangover and sober-up Potions by the end of the day if I am not mistaken." He told her. "I believe that it would be better to brew on our terms than have Madame Pomffery come knocking on our door looking for more Potions when we might be otherwise indisposed."

"I like the way you think Mr. Snape." Hermione agreed with a smile.

"Good, come with me." He took her hand and led her to the fireplace. Throwing a handful of Floo powder into the flames he drew her in with him and they disappeared to the lab in a whoosh of green flame.

**A/N: well I hope you all liked this chapter, there is one more to go. Yes I know, only one more, but all good things must come to an end. I have the next chapter written, but I don't like the wording yet so it should probably be up by the end of the week. I would love to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, I really have appreciated it. **

**I suppose since I am near the end I should have a plea for help if you all want a sequel. A couple chapters ago I mentioned that I was missing a major plot piece, well, I need a good villain and a good enough reason for her/him to exist. I have a couple ideas floating around, but they don't really seem to fit, or there is still something missing. If anyone has an idea, good bad or indifferent I would be much obliged if you could share them. I really do want to write a sequel and I think I have left enough untold to pull a reasonably good sequel off, but I won't write one if I don't have a good enough reason- all workable plot points. Drop me a PM or in a review and I will definitely look over any suggestions. Even if I do get good suggestions don't expect anything right away. I still have classes and tests and work, but I know if I get something I am happy with then I will post it. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and support guys, thanks a lot. Until next chapter-Dragons Quill**


	47. Phoenix Preperations

**A/N: hey everybody, I am enjoying the different ideas that you have all thrown in my direction and most of them have gone into the great melting pot of creative juices to stew and mix. I really appreciate all the help you have given and will not turn up my nose at any more suggestions you may have. I reworked the chapter, and made the tone much more to my liking. **

**Yes I know, sniffle, it is the final chapter, hope you all enjoy it. **

_Phoenix Preparations _(47)

Fawkes and Emerald said their goodbyes to Severus and Hermione and then flew off in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. They flew in compatible silence until they had flown a considerable distance into the forest. Deciding they had gone far enough, they landed and settled on a large branch among the leaves of a tree. Settling down they both began to preen themselves and then preened the areas of the other that could not be easily reached.

"It has been a long time since I have had help preening." Fawkes said. "It is a welcome change to what I have been doing for a long time. I am glad that you are here."

"So am I. How have you been since the last time we met?" She asked him.

"Oh, things have been overall well. Though the first year with Severus was not easy. He had nearly killed himself from starvation by the time I go to him. He believed that killing himself would atone for all the wrong things he did before Dumbledore was killed." Fawkes told Emerald.

"So your former companion was killed? You couldn't save him?"

"No." Fawkes shook his head. "He would have been dead by the turn of the seasons anyway. There was no way to stop the damage done by the Horcruxes. I know both Severus and I tried to halt or reverse the damage, but there was no way. What happened was inevitable, Severus merely allowed him to die with dignity and quickly by killing him, as well as advancing the position of the Light, despite the blow his death gave us."

"What!? Your former companion was murdered by your current one? How can that be?!" Emerald asked in shock ruffling her feathers.

"No, Dumbledore bound Severus in an unbreakable vow a long time ago, ensuring that Severus would kill him when he told him to. Besides, Dumbledore knew that Severus was going to be my next companion, I told him a few months before he died. He agreed that he would be a fine choice." Fawkes told her. "Anything exciting happen in your life since the last time we saw each other?"

"Not really, just the length of the flight here. I nearly ran into one of the muggles' flying metal birds though. My former companion passed peacefully about a week ago, one hundred and ninety was a good age."

"I know, I had a run in with one of those during the year I spent avoiding the War and keeping Severus safer by not showing my beak around his parts. Took nearly that long to grow back a few of my tail feathers after my run in, or at least that is what it seemed like."

"Well, it looks like you and I are going to be around each other for a good long while. It isn't often that two Phoenix Keepers are in a bonded marriage." Emerald commented. "I know this will only be the second one that I will have been part of in my five thousand years so far."

"This will be my third in my nine thousand years so far." Fawkes said. "But the last time I saw another one of our kind was when our companions met briefly, what about a hundred years ago now. I was only just with Dumbledore for something like twenty years when we met and you have been with your companion for thirty, thirty five something like that?"

"Yep." Emerald agreed. "I really hasn't been too long, at least in the grand scheme of things. Do you think that our time together will be long?"

"Yes." Fawkes nodded. "Both are still quite young and their bond is strong, they are soul mates, I saw it while they interacted when he was in Azkaban, and Dumbledore saw their potential and helped to get the ball rolling when he was laying his plans out for after his death. I suspect unless something drastically horrible and unexpected happens, that we shall be together in this bonded pair of companions for a good long time."

"That bodes well for us then. Where shall we begin to build then?"

"I think we should probably alert Severus and Hermione first before we begin to build, so they at least know what is going on and what to expect. They will probably make us some sort of room or alcove for us, then we can begin to nest." Fawkes said. "But we should begin soon so that things line up as they should. We can go back tomorrow and discuss it then. As for now, we should give them a day at least now that they are married. They need some time alone to 'get to know each other'."

"I agree. It will be quite a job to raise and teach another chick, but it will nice to nurture a chick again. It has been nearly two thousand years since my last nesting and it is high time to do so again."

"It will be four thousand for me." Fawkes told her. "I know I missed having another Phoenix around when my companion's companion died and she had to leave and find her next companion. It will be nice to compare what I have compiled so far and stack it against what you have."

"Yes I agree. My last companion was from America so I am quite sure that I have a whole lot of knowledge that you haven't heard yet."

"I am eager to hear it all." Fawkes said. "But not immediately, I really do need to get some more sleep. I did a meeting between Severus and Dumbledore a couple of nights ago and I still feel drained. It is only the second time I have done that type of thing. The last time I did it I felt drained for a week."

"That is impressive. I know the first and only time I have done that, it ended up heralding in my Burning Day a few years early. But it was ok, my companion at the time was still young and I actually had a second Burning Day with him a few years before his death. He was exceptionally long lived, even for a wizard, and I bonded with him earlier than many bond with a companion." Emerald told him. "You get some sleep and I will wake you tomorrow sometime so we can go back. You will have to be at full strength again so that we can properly nest and incubate."

"Thank you." Fawkes said, tucking his head under a wing. "Talk to you again tomorrow."

"Good night." Emerald said and smoothed some of his back feathers. "Talk to you later. Then the real work will begin; the raising of the Phoenix."

****~~~~~~~~****

Fins

**A/N: well I hope you all have enjoyed my first fan fic. Yes I know I have 2 others posted now, but this is the one I started first and the others were born out of my brief writers block on this one. I have really appreciated all of the lovely reviews of praise and support you have all given me. I hope that you will all drop me a final line to tell me what you thought of it. **

**I really enjoyed writing this fic and trust me it is not easy for me to end it either, it is like my baby. But just like kids they grow up and move on, and this fic has come to what I believe is its logical end. I have a few ideas running around for a sequel, but I will not promise anything just yet. I still have some issues dealing with a villain/problem that I like or seems complete and something I am happy with. My plot bunny warren has been a bit barren lately, frown. If I do have a sequel it will be a while before it is written. I still have a crazy schedule and I will want to write a few chapters ahead to know that it is going in the correct direction and is finish-able. I refuse to write and then post something that will not be finished, that just isn't fair to anyone so if there isn't a sequel then you know I didn't think it would work. I am still open to any suggestions you might have for a villain/problem to throw in the mix. **

**A huge thanks goes out to my fabulous beta, Skydancinghobbit. She has kept me in line with the almighty comma stick and helping to keep Severus himself, especially in the transition to what he is now. Thanks for reading it all the way through and thanks to everyone that has reviewed. Big hugs and smiley's to everyone- Dragons Quill **

****There is a SEAUEL to this story. It is called Raising Phoenix!****


	48. SEQUEL NOTICE!

Hey I know you all will think I suddenly thought to put up another chapter but this is to inform you all that have now started a sequel called Raising Phoenix, as of October 22, 2007. thanks to all that reviewed my fic. Hope you all enjoy the sequel.


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